


Immutable Like The Laws Of Physics

by Kerkerian



Category: Riptide (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Drama, Friendship/Love, Gen, Humour, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22440076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kerkerian/pseuds/Kerkerian
Summary: The force between two small magnets is quite complicated and depends on the strength and orientation of both magnets and the distance and direction of the magnets relative to each other.Or:Cody Allen hasn't seen his best friend Nick Ryder in more than four years. When he finally does, a lot has changed for both of them, but some things turn out to be immutable, just like the laws of physics.
Relationships: Cody Allen/Nick Ryder
Comments: 57
Kudos: 115





	1. Frowned Like Thunder And Went Away

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Riptide.

January 30, 1982

“Cody Allen?”

Cody, who had just filled up his tank, looked up from his wallet: “Straightaway, hey! Haven't seen you for a while!”

Straightaway came over to shake his hand: “How've you been?”

“Can't complain.” Cody smiled. “You?”

“Me neither. You ever gotten round to buying that boat you were talking about?”

“Nah.” An old, familiar pang made itself known at that, but Cody forced it down.

“Well, if you ever do- I've got a joint at the King Harbor marina now. Neat little place, you should come over some time.”

“I sure will.”

“Do you still keep in touch with Nick?” Straightaway then asked. He could as well have pulled out the rug from underneath Cody's feet.

“Not really,” he managed, trying to keep his voice steady and his tone light.

“I heard he was in an accident,” Straightaway frowned. “A while ago. Now he's in a rehab facility called Weston Hall. Rather posh affair, from the looks of it.”

Cody suddenly felt cold. His heart was beating in his throat and his blood was rushing in his ears, and he was having trouble to speak: “What kind of accident?” he asked, breathlessly.

“Beats me,” Straightaway said. “I haven't seen Nick in forever. Word gets around, but I don't have any details.”

“Thanks for telling me,” Cody all but stammered, his mind reeling.

“Yeah, well, sorry to be the bearer of bad news.” Straightaway gave him a sympathetic smile. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

Though Cody was not okay, and he didn't even remember, in hindsight, how he got back into his car and home afterwards. He just hoped he had paid for the fuel.

February 4, 1982

Cody was nervous. Ever since running into Straightaway at the gas station, he had barely been able to think of anything except Nick. And now there he was, in Weston Hall, wondering if it had really been such a good idea to come here.

The kind of jittery determination he had felt when he had gotten out of his car was dwindling slowly but steadily, so he had faltered and would probably have turned around on his heels and left again if it hadn't been for a kind, elderly nurse with a southern accent: “You here for Nick Ryder?” she asked.

Cody took a deep breath: “Yeah.”

“Follow me, then,” the nurse said. “I'm headed to his room anyway.”

She motioned at a heating pad which she was carrying: “PT is rough on him, even though he's never complaining.”

Cody's heart sank further while he was waiting outside of Nick's room while the nurse, Opal, went in; he didn't even know what to expect, and he had no idea how Nick was going to react if he walked in.

He could hear Opal talking: “Hi, sweetheart, heard you're toughing it out again.”

Cody didn't catch the answer because Nick spoke in a much lower voice, but it had the nurse laughing: “You bet. Don't want your back to stiffen up, though... there. How's the temperature?”

Again an indiscernible answer.

“Okay. You call me if you need anything, honey. And you've got a visitor waiting.”

When she came out again, she was smiling: “Go on in. He's a little tired now, but he'll be happy about some company. He doesn't get a lot of visitors.”

Cody thanked her, then knocked on the door frame before he entered. Some detached part of him registered how the room rather reminded him of an elegant hotel room, except for the hospital bed and the utility panel on the wall behind it; his focus was on Nick, though.

Who was lying on the bed, the head of which was raised; he was wearing sweatpants and a jumper, and the heating pad was behind his back. He looked drawn, almost haggard.

Cody was shaking; he hadn't known how much he had missed Nick until he had stepped over the threshold just now and saw him there, battered, but breathing. _Real._ Not just a figment of Cody's imagination.

“Hi,” he said, his voice unsteady.

Nick just looked at him for a few seconds, stunned, then he blinked: “Cody? Did they give me the good stuff again or is it really you?”

Cody felt like laughing and crying at once. “It is me,” he said breathlessly, approaching the bed. “I hope that's okay. I heard you're here, so I thought...” He broke off.

Nick regarded him: “I don't bite,” he then said quietly, patting the mattress. “Sit down.”

Cody did. For a moment, they just looked at each other, and to Cody, it felt as though the years fell away. It seemed impossible that they hadn't talked in such a long time. Four years, six months and two days, to be precise.

“Is this a bad time?” he asked, just to be sure.

“No... no. It's nice of you to come by,” Nick said.

Cody took a shaky breath: “Yeah, I... What happened?”

Nick sighed: “It's a long story,” he said, sounding as tired as he looked. “In a nutshell: the guy I'm working for rubbed the wrong people the wrong way. In retaliation, they sabotaged his helicopter, so we almost crashed.”

“But you didn't.”

“No, I managed to set her down, but there was an explosion. Got thrown against a rock and hurt my back.”

Cody swallowed, glancing at Nick's legs: “You're not-”

“No, I'm not. It was a close shave though, and for some time, they weren't sure. But it turned out that the initial paralysis was caused by some rather massive swelling that's pressing on the spinal cord. They went in surgically to remove the blood, you know, to reduce the pressure, but the swelling needs to go down on its own. I'm still taking a lot of meds, and right now, I'm learning to walk again.”

Looking pained, Cody shook his head: “I'm so sorry,” he said hoarsely.

“Not your fault.” A brief, sad smile flitted over Nick's face. “Gotta be patient. No pun intended.”

Cody tried to smile as well, but he felt his eyes getting moist: “Things turned out all wrong,” he said, his throat tight. “If I could've been there for you...”

“Wouldn't have changed a thing.” Nick muttered, avoiding Cody's gaze.

Inwardly, Cody disagreed, but he didn't want to argue, not now that Nick looked so exhausted. And it wasn't only that; Nick had always been strong, but now he seemed anything but. He hadn't lifted his head off the pillow once since Cody had arrived, and even his voice was far from its usual strength.

So Cody just nodded, trying to get a grip on himself. Seeing Nick like this, realising what he had been through, didn't make that easier.

“How are Grace and Janet?” Nick asked after another moment of silence.

“Janet left me when Gracie was six months old,” Cody said. “Moved to New York to pursue her career. And I gotta say it was the right thing to do. She didn't want to be a mother, and we weren't... once the initial attraction had died down...” He sighed. “The whole thing with us was a mistake, if I'm honest. But Gracie...” His face lit up. “She's amazing. She's four and a half now, and she's so clever...” He smiled, unaware that he was doing so.

Nick regarded him: “And how do you manage?”

“We've got a nanny several times a week, and sometimes, a babysitter,” Cody replied. “And I'm working from home some afternoons. In the mornings, Gracie's in kindergarten. I'm working in insurance now, guess my college years haven't been for nothing.”

He looked at Nick and found that he was still able to read his thoughts: “It's not my dream job,” he admitted. “But it pays the bills, and it's flexible, which is what I need right now. I want to be able to spend time with my little girl.”

Nick's expression softened: “Who'd have thought, huh?” he muttered.

“Yeah.”

Cody looked around the room: “This doesn't look too shabby. Got a good insurance?”

At that, Nick grinned a little: “Guy I'm working for is paying for it,” he then said soberly. “Says I shouldn't worry about it, since I saved his life.”

Cody read him as easily as if they'd never been apart: “But you don't like it.”

“No,” Nick agreed. “I don't. I'm grateful though. I probably wouldn't be where I am now if he hadn't made sure I was in the best of hands.”

Cody nodded, motioning towards the heating pad: “PT's rough?”

“Sometimes. There are good days and bad.”

“What kind of exercises are you doing?”

“A whole bunch. They keep adding stuff. Some of it is for my back and my legs, some just to build up general muscle tonus, some for the walking. I also have to do breathing exercises to avoid seizing up during therapy.”

“That _is_ a lot.”

“Yeah. Takes it out of a guy. But it's not as if I have much else to do, after all, so...” He trailed off.

“Do you know for how long you'll be here?”

“Not yet. Up to now, I haven't been doing so great, apparently.”

Cody had more questions, but he saw that Nick was fading by now, so he took a deep breath: “Can I come visit you again?”

Nick's gaze roamed over his face: “Sure,” he then said hesitantly. “You don't have to, though.”

“I want to.”

Nick blinked, his voice barely audible now: “Why?”

Cody closed his eyes for a moment. “I missed you,” he said softly. “I meant it when I said I was sorry. I'd like to... I dunno, make amends. Become friends again.”

Nick's expression was unreadable for a moment, then he inclined his head: “I'd like that,” he replied.

Cody was so relieved that he could have wept.

“I'll let you rest now,” he said. “Is there anything you need? Anything I can bring you?”

“No, thanks. I'm good.”

“Well, if you change your mind... “ Cody fished for his wallet and took out one of his cards. “Here's my card, just in case. The number is still the same, though we live in Westchester now.” He put it on the nightstand.

Nick looked at it, than at him: “Cody?”

“Yeah?”

“I'm sorry too.”

Nodding and feeling close to tears once more, Cody almost timidly reached for Nick's hand. He wrapped his fingers around Nick's, immediately reassured by the familiarity of the touch.

“Well,” he said once he had his voice back under control. “We're here now.”

“Yeah.” Nick looked at their joined hands. “Who'd have thought,” he repeated softly.

The house was empty when Cody got home; Grace and Mildred, the nanny, were out as well. Cody made some coffee, then he sat down at the kitchen table, feeling agitated and almost giddy.

He hadn't known what to expect, but things had turned out much better than he could have hoped for. He had been afraid that things between them were irrevocably broken and Nick wouldn't even want to see him. But it had been as easy to talk to him as it always had, and now Cody felt a glow inside that he had thought was lost.

Once Cody had left, Nick's eyes closed of their own account, he was so tired. He could still feel the warmth of Cody's hand when he fell asleep though.

He woke up much later. Someone had lowered the head of the bed in the meantime and covered him with a blanket, which he hadn't even noticed. After a glance at the clock- seven thirty- he rubbed his eyes; he needed the bathroom, but he couldn't face the whole rigmarole of getting up and into the wheelchair just yet. For a moment, he just lay there, warm and comfortable, and thought about Cody.

It had been the hardest decision of his life, four years ago, to leave and find a new job, something to do on his own. Cody and he had met in Vietnam and had bonded instantly. After their last tour, they had joined the Military Police. That was never meant to be a lasting thing, more of a means to ease the transition from being at war to cope with civilian life. And it had gone great until Cody had met Janet. Who, from the start, seemed to be jealous of Nick, and he couldn't remember even one occasion which hadn't been filled with tension on all parts whenever the three of them were together.

Nick had hoped that the strange infatuation that was holding Cody under its spell was going to pass, but then Janet became pregnant. That night, Nick went to a bar alone, feeling as though his world had ended. There was no way Cody and Janet were going to break it off now, not with a baby on the way.

After Grace was born, Nick went for one last visit, then he left. He hadn't seen Cody since.

He blinked, feeling the dread afresh that he had felt back then. But Cody had been here, and Nick realized how much he had missed him. Maybe they'd be able to turn things around if he really came back, if he had time; Nick didn't even know, after all, if he was in a relationship. But even if he wasn't, all this might intimidate him just as it had the few others which had been in to see him, back at the hospital, and who'd stayed away afterwards. The only more or less regular visitor he got was Andy, who'd probably never stop feeling guilty.

Well, Nick thought as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position; Cody was made of sterner stuff than most people gave him credit for.

Opal came in just as Nick was on his way back from the bathroom.

“Hey, honey,” she said. “I didn't want to wake you earlier, but I'm on my way out and thought I'd check on you before I leave.”

“Thanks,” he said, touched. “I'm fine. I was just knackered.”

“Doc told me that you need to put on some weight,” she said.

Nick nodded: “I know. He keeps reminding me. And so does Larry every time he's torturing me.”

Opal grinned: “Sorry. Speaking of which, though, I kept your dinner.”

Nick didn't feel particularly hungry, he rarely did these days, but Opal cocked her head: “I'll join you and stay for a round of cards, if you like,” she said.

“Don't you wanna go home?”

“Nobody's waiting for me,” she said lightly. “My husband's having poker night at a friend's.”

“Okay. If you're sure...”

"Hey, is that a rare Nick Ryder smile?"

While he was still smiling, Nick blushed.

"Oh yes, it is, and the genuine article at that. I feel special!" With a wink, Opal turned towards the door.

Cody came back two days later in the early afternoon. He found Nick in the garden which surrounded the building. He was sitting on a bench in the sun, eyes closed, face turned upwards, soaking up the light and the warmth after a week of rain. Cody approached him slowly, not wanting to startle him, but Nick seemed to have sensed his presence and began to blink, squinting up at Cody: “Hi.”

He sounded pleased, Cody noted, and maybe a teensy bit surprised.

“Hi.” Cody sat down next to him. “How are you?”

“Spent the morning in the pool for hydrotherapy,” Nick said. “I don't think I could move if I wanted to right now.”

Cody regarded him: the bright sunshine only emphasized how pale and thin he was. He looked frail to Cody, confirming the impression he had gotten two days earlier that Nick still had a long way to go.

“Well,” he said. “I could give you a piggyback.”

Nick laughed quietly: “What a relief,” he said.

Cody grinned, but his heart wasn't in it. “Sorry,” he muttered. “That was in bad taste.”

“Hey.” Something in Nick's tone made Cody look at him. “I'm not dying here,” he said. “I know how I look right now, and I could imagine nicer ways to spend to my time. But there's no need to tiptoe around me.”

Cody nodded: “Okay. Sorry.”

“You got nothing to be sorry for,” Nick murmured. “You came back, after all.”

For a moment, they were silent.

“I told you I was gonna come back,” Cody eventually said.

“Yeah, well,” Nick looked at the trees that marked the property's borders. “So did a number of others.”

Cody frowned: “But they didn't?”

“No. I guess it was too much for them, especially while I was still in the hospital.” He looked at Cody, who opened his mouth, and quickly forestalled him: “Don't.”

“I wasn't-”

“You were gonna apologize again.”

“Yes, I was,” Cody admitted. He shook his head: “So... who else is visiting?”

“Only Andy Fitzsimmons,” Nick said. “He's my employer. He's got a very short attention span and is a bit fidgety on the best of days, so that can be challenging, but he's sweet, really. Drops by on a semi-regular basis.”

“He's the one they tried to kill?”

“Yeah. He's a bit... clumsy when it comes to other people sometimes, and a bit naïve. Tends to stumble into things because of that.”

“Did they find out who it was?”

“Yeah. The already held the trial. Police came to talk to me several times.”

“I hope they were put away for life.”

“They were.”

“Good,” Cody said fervently, at which Nick seemed amused.

“And there's,” Cody cleared his throat. “there's no... significant other?”

“No. Andy set me up with a friend of his once. Like a blind date. He was nice, but my heart wasn't in it. Then there's a cat that used to come by rather frequently, but it's probably given up by now, since there's no one to feed it.”

“Cats are opportunists,” Cody agreed.

“Yeah, well... I'd rather have a dog anyway. Maybe one day.”

“Gracie desperately wants one.”

Nick smiled.

“You?” he then asked.

“I'm single as well. The only person who's occasionally sleeping in my bed is Gracie nowadays. Well, and a stuffed giraffe called Nelson. Incidentally, he's had to double as a dog for some time now, since the little madam can be very tenacious when she wants something."

This elicited another smile.

“So where do you live now?” Cody then asked quickly.

“In Brentwood. Andy's got a large estate there, I'm living in the pool house.”

“Wow. Nice.”

“It's convenient. I worked in construction until I got the job as Andy's private pilot. Which was a relief, and much better paid. But it also meant being on call most of the time, so...”

After a moment, Nick looked at Cody: “Who told you about this again?”

“I ran into Herb Straightaway at the gas station,” Cody said. “He's got a 'joint' at the King Harbor marina now, apparently. He hears things.”

“Oh, yeah, Straightaway,” Nick smiled. “He sent me some flowers.”

“That's nice of him.”

“Yeah.”

The ensuing silence was interrupted by the nurse whom Cody had met on his first visit: “Hi guys. I thought you might like some coffee.” She smiled, putting a tray with two mugs, milk and sugar down on the table next to the bench, then she handed Nick a mug: “You look like you can use a pick-me-up, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Opal,” Nick said. “You're the best. This is Cody, by the way.”

Opal handed Cody the other mug: “Yeah, hi, I'm Opal. Nice to meet you again.”

“Thanks,” he said. “Nice to meet you too.”

“Call me if you want a refill.”

Nick looked at her as she walked away: “She's great.”

“She seems very kind.”

“Yeah. When I first got here, she was the only one who treated me like a normal person, not only like a patient.”

“When did you get here at all?” Cody asked.

“Almost three weeks ago.”

“And... how long were you in the hospital before that?”

“Five weeks.”

“Five weeks!”

“I had other injuries as well,” Nick said softly. “And they had to keep me sedated at first.”

Cody put his mug down because his hands were shaking too much all of a sudden. “God, Nick,” he said hoarsely.

Nick looked anywhere but at him: “It's okay,” he murmured. “Counseling's mandatory here, so I'm seeing a shrink every week. But I don't remember much, to be honest.” He only did in his dreams.

Cody needed a moment to regain his composure. He still felt that he was to blame, at least in part. If he hadn't fallen for Janet, hadn't thought he was doing the right thing by settling down with a woman, Nick probably wouldn't have left, wouldn't have taken the job which ultimately nearly killed him.

He briefly closed his eyes: Nick and he had never been more than friends, but they had been closer than he'd ever been with someone. Cody was convinced that they could have been more, if they had let it happen. If _he_ had let it happen. Back then, he hadn't been able to handle the pressure he felt society in general and his parents in particular were exerting on him. Instead, he had gladly taken the next best opportunity and allowed for Janet to drive a wedge between them.

It had been haunting him all this time, the _what if_ , and he couldn't even begin to imagine how much he had hurt Nick, judging from his own pain. Well, he didn't think he was going to get a second chance at what they'd had, but he really hoped they could be friends again.

“I wasn't there for you up until now,” he said once he could speak again. “But I'll be here for you from now on. If you let me.”

Nick was silent for so long that Cody's heart sank. When he looked at him however, he saw that Nick was also having trouble to compose himself.

“We never stopped being friends, did we,” he eventually managed, and it wasn't a question.

Cody could have wept with relief: “I don't know about you,” he said, his throat tight, “but I missed you terribly. I didn't miss Janet after she was gone, but you... if I hadn't had Gracie, I don't know what I'd done.”

“I shouldn't have left like that.”

“I should've tried to find you.”

They glanced at each other, both of them smiling a little.

“So, what do you say?” Cody then asked softly.

“Well,” Nick cleared his throat. “I don't think I have a choice.”

“No,” Cody agreed. “I don't think you do.”

That night, when Cody put Gracie to bed, he tucked her in and snuggled up with her to read her a story as he always did; it was his favourite time of day. Once he had closed the book, he quickly forestalled the little girl's protests: “I've got to tell you something, Gracie.”

“What is it?”

“Do you remember how I told you about my friend, your uncle Nick?”

Grace nodded: “He's in the green picture on your dresser.”

Cody subdued a smile: the photo she was referring to had been taken in Vietnam, and they were wearing their fatigues. The dominant colour was indeed green. “Yes,” he therefore said.

“You said he was your best friend.”

“That's right.” Cody paused. “He still is. We haven't seen each other in a long time, and that was wrong.”

“Because you missed him,” Grace stated categorically.

“Yes. But I've seen him today, and the day before yesterday. He has been in an accident a few weeks ago, and now he's living in a rehab facility for a while. That's a place where people get help to recover from their injuries.”

“Was it a car accident?”

“No, it was a helicopter accident. Nick's a pilot.”

“Like Rudolf von Flugel?”

“Yeah, sort of. But Nick's a helicopter pilot.”

Gracie pondered this: “Was it bad?”

“Yes, baby, it was. But Nick is going to be fine, he just needs some time. Right now, he can't walk, so he needs to learn it all over again.”

“Oh. Why?”

“He hurt his back really bad, and that can sometimes affect the legs.”

“Did he cry?”

“I don't know, but when he got to the hospital, the doctors gave him something to make the pain go away.”

“Like a shot?”

“Yes.”

“Poor Uncle Nick.”

“I know.” Cody craned his neck to look at his daughter: “Anyway- I thought you might like to meet him, and he'd probably be glad about getting some visitors. What do you think?”

“Can Nelson come too?”

“Of course he can.”

“Okay!”

“Great. I bet he'll be very pleased to see you. He's only seen you as a tiny baby.”

“I remember that.”

Cody grinned: “No, you don't.”

“Nelson remembers it. And he told me.”

“Ah.” Cody bent down to kiss her: “Alright, Miss Smartiepants, I think it's time for lights out.”

“Good night, Daddy.”

“Good night, honey.”

Cody turned on Gracie's night light and left her door slightly ajar. In his bedroom, he took the “green picture” and looked at it- he remembered the occasion well, the heat, the pervasive smell of the jungle and Nick so close to him, their arms around one another. His sheer presence made everything bearable, and it usually only took one word from him, or a brief grin, or a pat on the shoulder, to reassure Cody and make him feel better about whatever was bothering him. And in the hell that was Vietnam, that amounted to a lot.

Nick could be a hothead, but he kept his calm when it counted, out there during their battles, when Cody needed him to be, for which he was grateful. How Nick did it remained a mystery to his friend; he knew that Nick's upbringing probably had a lot to with it. From what he'd told Cody, his childhood hadn't nearly been as carefree as his own, so he had learned to be tough at an early age.

Cody regarded his younger self: he could be tough as well, and Nick and he had always had each other's backs. And now, apparently, it was up to Cody to be the stronger one.

Nick lay awake that night. For a long time, he had been wishing he could undo everything that happened once they had joined the Military Police, could prevent Janet from happening. He always felt guilty once he'd thought that far, because it seemed unfair towards Grace. And yet.

Right then, however, he was mainly grateful that Cody had in the end come to find him. After his first visit, Nick hadn't been sure, because it had seemed surreal: talking to Cody, having him near, was like finally feeling alive again. They had always clicked, the both of them, and nothing had changed about that. But Nick wouldn't have expected it to be so easy. On the other hand- it had been like this when they first met, an instant connection. They'd always been able to talk to each other; it seemed like they hadn't lost that. Nick just hoped that this time, it was going to last.

A few days later, Cody brought his daughter. It was raining again; Nick was in his room, sitting in his wheelchair with a couple of books on his lap when they came in.

“Hi,” Cody said. “This a bad time?”

“No,” Nick's gaze wandered from him to Grace. “I was just going to the library to return these.” He smiled: “Hi, Gracie.”

“Hi.” The little girl regarded him curiously: “Matty from my kindergarten class is also in a wheelchair. His wheels are red.”

Inwardly, Nick laughed; she didn't seem shy at all, and apparently, she had inherited her father's gift of easy conversation. She had also inherited his blond hair, which she wore in pigtails.

“I'd like that,” he said. “But I won't need the wheelchair for long, hopefully. I'm practising how to walk every day.”

“Matty can't walk at all. I like him though; when we play house, he's the grandpa.”

Nick exchanged an amused look with Cody, who beamed, pride evident in his expression. “Don't forget to give Nick what you brought,” he reminded Grace.

She opened her little backpack and pulled a folded piece of paper out of it: “I made this for you.”

While Grace took up position next to him, Nick unfolded it with slightly shaking hands: it showed three stick figures.

“Let me see,” Nick said. “Is this you?”

“Yes,” Grace nodded solemnly.

“And is this your dad?”

“Yes.”

“And this is a dog?”

“Yes, and he's got a tag on his collar with his name on it. Only it's so small you can't read it.”

“Ha, I bet I can guess it.”

“No, you can't,” Grace said, obviously delighted.

“Is it... Henry?”

“No.” She giggled.

“Pete?”

“No!”

“Could it be... Nelson?”

Grace squealed: “Nelson, Uncle Nick guessed your name!” She pulled a stuffed giraffe out of her backpack. “This is Nelson.”

“But he's a giraffe.”

“He's twins. But they don't look that much alike.”

Nick couldn't stop himself from grinning: “Oh, okay. That makes sense, of course.” He smiled at the little girl: “Thank you for this, Gracie. It's a very beautiful picture.”

“You can put it on the wall,” she said. “We got pictures on the wall and everywhere. That's how I knew what you looked like before we came here.”

“You did?”

She nodded. Nick looked at Cody again, who shrugged.

“I've got time till four,” Nick then said. “How about some coffee?” He turned to Gracie: “And I hear they make some seriously good hot chocolate here.”

“I like hot chocolate, but Nelson only drinks water.”

“That shouldn't be a problem,” Cody said, opening the door, then stepping behind the wheelchair, eyeing the books: “What have you been reading?”

“Clive Cussler and Bruce Chatwin.”

“Any good?”

“They're okay. The library here isn't really a library but more like one shelf of books, so the selection is a bit limited.”

“I meant it when I said I would bring you things, you know,” Cody said. “Gracie and I are at the library every other week, I can borrow some books for you.”

“I know.” Nick peered up at him. “Thanks. Maybe I could write you down a title or two.”

Cody put his hand on Nick's shoulder for a moment: “'Course. Okay if I push you?”

“Yeah.”

“Which books do you like?” Nick asked Grace on their way to the cafeteria.

“ _Busytown_! And _The Very Hungry Caterpillar_ , and _The Grouchy Ladybug_.”

“I don't think I know them,” Nick said.

“If you come over to our house I can show you,” Grace said matter-of-factly. “I like Lowly Worm. He's only got one shoe!”

“A worm with a shoe? Isn't that crazy?”

“He's also got a hat!”

“Huh. I never heard of a worm with a shoe and a hat.”

“There's also a hippo,” Cody said. “What's her name again?”

“Hilda,” Grace supplied.

“Right. She's got a crush on Lowly, doesn't she?”

Grace giggled: “Yes.”

“Seems like I've really been missing out on something,” Nick said.

“We'll remedy that, won't we, Gracie?” Cody said.

“What's remmerdie?”

“We'll make sure Nick learns about Busytown, and the hungry caterpillar.”

“Yes, and the grouchy ladybug!”

“Deal,” Nick said, beaming at the little girl.

When Cody came by the next time, Nick was lying on his bed with a heating pad on his thighs.

“Hi,” he said quietly.

“Hi.” Cody stood by the bed, then, after a moment's hesitation, he bent down and pecked Nick on the cheek, blushing most adorably: “You okay?”

Nick barely managed not to remark on the kiss, but all this was still new, after all: as long as they hadn't set any parameters, it didn't seem advisable.

So he just answered Cody's question: “Sensation's coming back by degrees, and it's a bit unpleasant at times. It doesn't really hurt, but... pins and needles.”

“Sorry,” Cody said. “But at least it's coming back, right?”

“Right.” Nick smiled, though it seemed a tiny bit strained. He was tired, Cody realized. “Were you in the pool again?”

“Yeah.” Nick yawned. “They're ratcheting things up, which is good, I guess, but it's also very exhausting.” He rubbed his eyes with one hand. “Been in there for almost two hours.”

“I can come back later if you wanna sleep,” Cody offered.

“Nah, it's okay. If I sleep now, I'll be awake at night.” He motioned for Cody to sit down: “How did it go with Gracie's bike?”

“I took the training wheels off as per our agreement, and she only fell twice while we were practising yesterday.” Cody beamed. “I gotta say, she's one tough cookie. Not a single tear, only lots of hurt pride.”

Nick grinned: “Man, I remember my first bike. Crashed into our neighbours' car right on the first day.”

“What?”

“Yeah. Left a bump on my head and a dent on the car. My grandma nearly got into a fistfight with Mrs. Antonioli.”

They were still laughing when there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Nick called. A moment later, a good-looking man came in: “Hi there,” he greeted.

“Andy,” Nick said. “Hi. Cody, this Andy Fitzsimmons.”

Cody got up and held out his hand: “Hi, I'm Cody Allen. Nice to meet you.”

They shook hands.

“How do you know each other?” Andy asked.

“We're old army buddies,” Cody said. “This guy here saved my butt about a hundred times.”

Andy looked from him to Nick: “Seems to be a genetic trait,” he said. Nick blushed: “Cody saved my life as well,” he mumbled.

“And how are you doing?” Andy then wanted to know.

“Doc says nearly everything's healed nicely, but he wants to try some different medication because the swelling should have gone down more than it has by now.”

Cody was a bit astounded that Nick was answering so curtly, but then he remembered what he had told him about Andy the first time he had mentioned him, and indeed, Andy nodded, frowning momentarily, but was already moving on to the next topic: “Fingers crossed, then. I've been looking at some choppers in the meantime. You know, to replace the old one. And I've bought a new car. Jaime's totally been off his head ever since.” With a glance at Cody, he added “My chauffeur. And valet.”

Cody, who saw how Nick was really flagging by now, took over: “A new car, huh? So which make's it?”

While Andy told him all about the car, seemingly being most excited about the inbuilt TV and video system, Nick's eyes closed at one point.

“Oh,” Andy said, interrupting himself when he noticed it. “He fell asleep.”

“His exercises have been rather taxing today,” Cody said, unaware how affectionate he sounded.

Andy regarded him: “I really hope he's doing better,” he said soberly. “You should've seen him at first- or rather, no, be glad you haven't.”

“It was bad, huh,” Cody said, his eyes on Nick.

“Frankly- I don't know how he managed. But he's probably stronger than he looks.”

Cody nodded: “He is.” He cleared his throat: “Thank you for making sure he's getting such good care.”

Andy smiled, suddenly looking downright bashful: “Of course,” he said softly. “I love the guy, and he saved my life. It's the least I can do.”

They talked some more, then Andy went home. Cody stayed with Nick until he had to get going too; he wrote a note which he put under Nick's hand, then he quietly left the room.

When Nick woke up some time later, he was confused for a moment and a tad disappointed. He frowned when his fingers touched something different than the comforter, but then his expression softened: it was Cody's note.

 _Hey, big guy_ , it read. _I had to go, but I didn't want to wake you. I'll be back with Gracie tomorrow, have a nice evening. Love, Cody._

With a smile, Nick closed his eyes again.

To Be Continued


	2. Conservation Of Electric Charge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In physics, a conservation law states that a particular measurable property of an isolated physical system does not change as the system evolves over time.

Cody's visits became a regular thing. Sometimes he brought Grace, and she in turn brought her books which Nick then had to read to her. He didn't mind, on the contrary: it was fun, and he enjoyed having the little girl around. When she wasn't there, Cody and he talked. Even after all this time, Cody found that he could tell Nick things he'd never have dreamed of revealing to anyone, and he remembered how it had been like that pretty much from the moment they met.

Those visits were something Nick was looking forward to, and things suddenly seemed less dull. Before Cody had turned up for the first time, Nick hadn't been sleeping well, despite the bone-deep exhaustion that he felt all the time, and he had no interest in food or entertainment; sometimes, he turned on the TV that was mounted on the wall opposite the bed, but he rarely registered what he was watching.

He read some books to pass the time, but he simply hadn't been able to look ahead. Being able to walk again, live normally again and most importantly, fly, had seemed impossible to achieve, and he hadn't seen the point in doing all the therapy when it was going to prove futile in the end.

When he had woken up properly for the first time in the hospital and had been told what had happened, he thought his life had ended. Flying was what he had been living for during the past years, and if he couldn't do that anymore, he might as well be dead. There hadn't been anything to console him, nor anyone who could have, and since the outlook hadn't been good, he had been ready to give up there and then.

Therefore, before the surgeon had seen reason for cautious optimism, Nick had sometimes lain awake wondering how he could easiest end his life if he'd really be stuck in a wheelchair.

He didn't have any family apart from his cousin Tony, whom he never saw because he lived in Canada; he was a decent chap, but Nick didn't have any qualms because of him, since they weren't close. And there was Cody, of course. But back then, Nick thought he was still with Janet, and even though he'd probably be distraught, he was at least not going to be alone.

When he thought of those days now, Nick was ashamed that he had been ready to simply give up without a fight. Therefore, he resolved to get a grip on himself, which felt surprisingly good; even his exercises seemed more manageable all of a sudden.

“Seems like Nick's finally making some real progress,” Larry, Nick's physiotherapist, said to Opal at one point. “I don't know what's changed, but something's different. It's like he's found a new well of strength somehow. Or maybe it's old Sheeran's handiwork.”

Opal smiled: in her opinion, the reason probably was about six feet tall and sporting a blond mustache, but she didn't intend to share that with Larry. She'd had a soft spot for Nick pretty much from day one; he'd been polite but quiet, almost withdrawn at first, and Opal had done her best to encourage him, which had been a task, to say the least. He didn't easily smile, especially when someone cracked a joke, and he didn't care for the company of the other patients but preferred to be alone. He very much reminded Opal of her youngest brother in that regard.

So Opal had kept being kind to him without coddling him, and by and by, he was less reserved towards her. Sometimes, she even got him to play cards with her if her time allowed for it, and on those occasions, she actually saw a genuine smile once in a while, which was rather beautiful to see but never lasted long. But now he seemed less weighed down, and he was suddenly able to laugh.

None of that was anyone else's business, however, so she just smiled and nodded: “I'm glad.” And that was the truth, after all.

“I thought about you all the time,” Cody said quietly one afternoon; they were sitting underneath a tree in the garden and had been reminiscing about their time with the Military Police. “You know, after you were gone.”

Nick just looked at him.

“At first, I was confused, mainly,” Cody continued. “You and I... remember how we talked about buying a boat? After all we'd been through together, I just couldn't imagine not having you in my life. But once the fog had lifted... you know, I think I'd have left too, if our roles had been reversed.”

“I'm not proud of it,” Nick said softly, averting his gaze now. “I just couldn't handle it, you know? I was happy for you, but I was jealous as well. I felt left out, I guess.” He paused: “At the time, I thought it was easier for all of us.”

Cody nodded: “I feel so stupid,” he murmured. “I didn't love Janet, and it actually wasn't fair to be using her like that.”

“You didn't-”

“Yes, I did.” Cody raised his hand: “I gotta be honest- I was a coward back then. Didn't dare to just appreciate what I... what I could have had.” He pointedly didn't look at Nick either. “Instead, I did what people expected me to do. And it was wrong.”

For a moment, they were silent.

“What you could have had?” Nick then asked, his voice barely audible.

Cody sounded pained: “You know how I felt,” he said, his throat tight. “About you. And I knew it was reciprocated.”

“Only we never... acted on it,” Nick said after a moment of comprehension.

“No.”

“So we were both stupid.”

At that, Cody looked up and glanced at Nick sideways. Nick met his gaze with an almost timid expression, then he shrugged: “Well, you said it, the first time you came visiting me: we're here now.”

Cody suddenly felt as though a weight had been lifted off his heart. He reached for Nick's hand and took it, wrapping his own around it: “Yes,” he said softly. “We are.”

“You going all soft on me, Allen?” Nick asked, a hint of mischief in his tone.

“Yeah.” Laughing quietly, Cody squeezed Nick's hand.

After that, they just sat there, never letting go of each other until it was time for Nick's counseling session with Dr. Sheeran.

One morning, about a week later, Opal called Cody at his office.

“Sorry to be bothering you at work,” she said. “Nick asked me to. There were some changes in the medication he's receiving, and unfortunately, he did just have a strong allergic reaction to some of them. Been throwing up all night, the poor thing, he looks like death warmed over. He's on a drip now so we'll get some fluids back into him, and the doctor already had a look at him. Nick just wanted to give you a heads up in case you were planning on coming by today. He thought it'd probably be too much for your little girl, seeing him like that.”

Cody, who'd been listening with a pounding heart, nodded even though Opal couldn't see it; he was touched by this level of consideration. “Thank you, that's very kind. Is he doing better by now?”

“Well, the vomiting stopped about an hour ago. He's getting some antiemetics, among other things, so I hope he'll be able to catch up on some sleep.”

“Fingers crossed,” Cody said unhappily. “And thanks again for letting me know.”

“Yeah, well, it's all well and good about patient confidentiality, but if you're in this line of work as long as I've been, you know when it's alright to bend the rules a bit. So if he hadn't asked me to call you, I'd probably have done it anyway.”

“I'm glad he's got you,” Cody said, heartfelt.

He could almost hear Opal's smile: “Likewise.”

After Cody had hung up the phone, he tried to focus on his work, which he more or less managed for an hour or so, then he gave up. He put the files he was working on in his briefcase, checked out and headed for his car.

When he arrived at Weston Hall, Opal was nowhere in sight. Very quietly so as not to disturb Nick in case he slept, Cody opened the door to his room. It was darker in there than usual, since the blinds were closed and all the lights were turned off; on tiptoe, Cody approached the bed.

Nick appeared to be sleeping indeed. He looked as though he had tried to turn on his side and curl in on himself but hadn't succeeded; now he was lying tilted sideways a little awkwardly, both arms across his midriff. It didn't seem like a comfortable position, but Cody knew from his own experience how difficult it was to fall asleep at all after having thrown up so much, when all the muscles in one's upper body were aching and the queasiness was still lingering.

His heart went out to his friend, who looked wan and exhausted and still a little tense. Two different bags of fluids were connected to an IV catheter on his left hand. One of those was almost empty, the other looked as though it had just been put up.

Trying not to make any noise, Cody carried a chair over to the bed. He didn't dare to touch Nick because he didn't want to rouse him, so he just sat there, looking at him. Since the afternoon in the garden, they hadn't talked about the matter any further, but things had subtly and steadily begun to change nevertheless; it felt as they had finally found their old footing. Cody had no idea which aftershave Nick was using these days or if he owned a car, but he felt as close to him as before, for which he was grateful.

Opal came in at one point; she beamed at Cody but didn't seem very surprised to see him. “Did he wake up?” she asked in a whisper. Cody shook his head: “He's been like this the whole time.”

“Well, he's knackered. Meds seem to be doing the trick though.” Opal took the empty IV bag down: “Call me when he wakes up, okay?”

“Yeah.”

Nick slept on though, moving only infinitesimally a few times. Cody reluctantly got up at eleven thirty, since he had to go and pick Grace up from kindergarten. He returned the chair to its spot, then went over to look at Nick once more, already certain that he was going to come back later that day. Ever since he had begun these visits, he had taken to catch up on the work he was missing during the day in the evenings; today was no exception, and he didn't mind.

He reached out and very gently stroked Nick's cheek with the back of his fingers, then he silently left the room.

Nick felt the touch, but by the time he had groggily pried his tired eyes open, Cody had gone. Nick felt battered and defeated; he had felt queasy all evening on the previous day, but it had only gotten worse around midnight. He hadn't even managed to press the call button before he had first thrown up, and it had made him feel like a patient again, helpless and unable to look after himself.

These past weeks had been better, had given him reason to be optimistic, and he had finally been making progress. Right then however he couldn't muster up any of the courage and resolve he needed to be strong enough, leaving him wondering if maybe he had been overconfident, had allowed himself to be fooled into thinking he was going to be alright if he just plowed on with gritted teeth and determination. And he asked himself what he had done wrong to deserve this, only to immediately feel guilty about his self-pity.

“ _You're stronger than this,_ ” he heard his grandma's voice in his head. “ _You'll always fall on your feet, Nicky_.”

 _Yeah_ , he thought tiredly. _But if they don't work, I'll just fall_.

Opal came in a while later; Nick still hadn't moved, though his bladder was making itself known.

“Hey, honey,” she said softly. “You feeling better?”

“Never saw that truck,” he replied wrily. “But the nausea is receding, yeah.”

Opal smiled in sympathy: “Brought you some ginger tea. Works wonders. You hungry?”

“No. I need to get to the bathroom though.”

“Okay. Let me disconnect the IV first.”

“Your friend Cody was here while you were napping,” she then said.

A faint smile ghosted over Nick's face; so he hadn't been wrong.

Opal helped him to sit up and get into the wheelchair, which was rather taxing right then, much like it had when he had first begun to use it.

While he was in the bathroom, Opal opened the blinds and a window and raised the head of the bed a little further. She correctly assumed that Nick didn't want to get up yet; he was indeed relieved to get back into bed. Opal reconnected the IV line and handed Nick the mug of tea: “Anything else you need, sweetheart?”

“A time machine,” he murmured.

“Don't we all,” Opal agreed softly, regarding him: “Don't let today bring you down, darling. You'll get there, you hear me?”

“Yeah.” Nick tried a smile, which didn't quite reach his eyes.

“You will,” Opal said with emphasis. “And it seems like you're not gonna do it alone.” She smiled. “Your gorgeous pal seems determined to be at your side, if you don't mind me saying.”

At that, Nick's expression did light up a little.

“Yeah,” he muttered. “He does.”

“See?” Opal's smile deepened. “Now, I'll be back in half an hour. Try and finish your tea till then, alright?”

Nick mainly napped for the remainder of the day, he didn't have the energy to do anything else. Which was just as well, he thought, since sleeping meant a break from the more unwelcome thoughts he couldn't shake off.

In the late afternoon, he woke up to find Cody at his side, sitting in a chair by the bed. When Nick opened his eyes and focused on him, Cody smiled; still drowsy, Nick reached for him, like a child would do, or a person who needed a lifeline. And in an instant, Cody was on his feet, as if they had done this a hundred times before, taking Nick's hand very carefully because of the IV catheter: “Hey, big guy,” he said gently. “Need anything?”

Nick blinked, pulling Cody closer: “I'm fine,” he said, his voice gravelly; he seemed a little bemused. Cody was relieved nevertheless: “You do look better,” he confirmed. “Got some colour back.”

Nick's gaze wandered over his face: “Few weeks ago everything was kinda bleak, like today,” he muttered. “Tough. Now there's you.” The hint of a smile flitted over his features.

Cody regarded him: “Told you I'd be there from now on.”

“But you've also got Grace, and work...” Nick frowned. “They should come first.”

Cody shook his head: “What are you talking about? There's no... competition going on between the priorities in my life.”

“Just sayin'... if this doesn't work out, if I won't be able to get back on my feet... you don't have to feel obligated-.”

“Nick,” Cody interrupted him, sounding dismayed but also stern. “Please, stop this kind of talk right now! No matter what will happen, I'm your friend, I love you, please- don't think even for a minute that you'll get rid of me a second time! You're stuck with me from now on. And Gracie, and Nelson, and all of Busytown, presumably.” He moved even closer, reaching up to stroke Nick's face, as tenderly as he had done in the morning: “Okay?”

Nick just looked at him; his eyes were swimming now, and he was visibly trembling.

“Hey,” Cody said gently and with concern. “You've been nothing but brave all these weeks. You're allowed the occasional doubts, as long as I can later talk you out of it.”

Nick didn't say anything, but his grip on Cody tightened. After a brief moment of consideration, the latter sat down on the mattress, bent forward and carefully gathered Nick in his arms, pulling him up and leaning back so that Nick leaned against him.

“This okay?” Cody asked softly. “I don't wanna hurt you.”

Nick made an affirming sound that could have been a sob, so Cody gently reinforced his grip and just held Nick as tightly as he dared until the trembling subsided.

“Sorry,” Nick muttered into Cody's shirt. “It's just... I don't always know if I'm really gonna make it.”

“That's okay,” Cody soothed, pressing a kiss on Nick's hair. “You don't have to be strong all the time.” He held on a moment longer; Nick felt precious and fragile and wonderful, and Cody was overwhelmed by a fresh wave of affection. It was the same kind of helpless adoration he felt whenever he was with his daughter. _Love_ , he thought, shaken by the sudden reality of it.

As gently as before, he eased Nick back onto the pillow, taking his hand again.

Nick regarded Cody with red-rimmed eyes: “'m glad you're here.”

“Me too.” Cody's gaze was serious. “During the past few years, it felt as though Gracie was the only good thing in my life. But now... I'm looking forward to seeing you every time, you got no idea.” He looked around the room for courage: “Not that I wanna sound ungrateful for what I have, but... it reminded me of what I've been missing out on. And what I'd have lost.” His gaze strayed back to Nick, almost timidly.

Nick drew in a shaky breath, then he lifted his free hand to Cody's cheek. Unthinkingly, Cody caught it with his own and held it there, turning his face into the touch. Ever so briefly, he closed his eyes, then he looked at Nick again, butterflies dancing in his stomach: “I'm not in the wrong here, am I?” he asked, his voice tremulous.

Nick smiled a little, his eyes swimming again: “Not where I'm concerned,” he all but whispered, at which Cody's eyes got moist as well. He laughed a little watery: “Really?”

Nick couldn't subdue a few sobs now: “'Course,” he managed in between. “It was always you. Never stopped.”

Cody laughed again, crying for real as well by now; it took a while for the both of them to calm down, and when they did, they felt giddy and exhilarated, enjoying each other's closeness.

“Do you think it's always this complicated?” Nick eventually muttered.

“God, I hope not.” Cody couldn't stop smiling. “But we're over the hump now, aren't we? Kinda know where we're headed.”

Nick regarded him: “It's not necessarily gonna be easy,” he said softly.

“I know.” Cody's expression was defiant all of a sudden: “I'm sick and tired of giving a damn about what people think, though.”

“Still got your daughter to consider.”

“Yeah.” Cody considered Nick: “Right now, I just can't worry about those things.”

Nick took a deep breath: “So what about this, here? It's not exactly... romantic.”

“I don't care,” Cody said, pressing a kiss on Nick's hand. “You and me, baby. We don't need a particular setting.”

Nick laughed quietly: “If you put it like that...”

“I do. And it's kinda in keeping with how we started, isn't it?”

“What?”

“The first time I wanted to kiss you real badly was in 'Nam, and we were under attack. Not exactly romantic either.”

“Yeah, well,” Nick said, his expression softening. “I'm sorry, but I'm afraid kissing's not on the menu today. I'm all icky.”

“Ha!” Cody said, leaning forward and kissing Nick's forehead.

Nick couldn't help but laugh: “Clown,” he breathed.

Cody drew back: “Consider it a deposit,” he said, grinning.

On the following day, Nick was doing much better physically. His muscles still felt rather sore, but he got out of bed and into the shower under his own steam, grateful that he was generally able to do so without help by now; it did a lot for a person's dignity if they had their privacy in the bathroom, after all.

He was vaguely nervous all day, however, and even though Opal chided him, he didn't even manage to finish his meals.

“You'll never put on any weight if you keep eating like a bird,” she said, concern evident in her voice.

Nick was worrying about Cody, however. He had woken up early with a pounding heart and the remnants of a nightmare still confusing him. Once he had realized that it had only been a dream, he tried to go back to sleep, but to no avail. So he lay awake, pondering. He wanted to be happy, and he couldn't stop his stomach from doing delighted somersaults whenever he thought of how affectionate Cody had been, how things had felt as though they'd finally fallen into place.

And yet, he worried that Cody might have come to regret his decision in the meantime, might have realized that Nick had been right: his daughter and his job should come first. If Nick remained invalid however, he'd unnecessarily burden himself. And that probably and understandably wasn't the version of Nick he actually wanted; hell, Nick didn't even want this version himself.

That evening after dinner, Nick had just gotten into bed when there was a knock on the door and Cody peered in: “You decent?”

Nick snorted: “Since when is that bothering you? You usually don't even knock.”

“Yeah, well, it's never too late to start.” Cody closed the door behind him, smiling as he approached Nick. He seemed relaxed, but Nick suddenly felt the urge to flee- he wasn't sure he wanted to hear what Cody was probably going to say.

“Can I?” Cody pointed to the mattress.

When Nick nodded, Cody sat down, regarding him: “You look much better.”

“I am,” Nick said, breathlessly.

“Good.” Cody's smile deepened. “I was hoping we could get back to that kissing business today.”

Nick wasn't sure if had heard right: “So... you're still sure?” he asked, barely audible.

Cody shook his head: “What kind of silly-ass question is that? Of course I'm sure.”

Nick felt his blood rushing in his ears, suddenly feeling stupid for having worked himself into a frenzy all day.

“Nick?” Cody asked gently. “You're trembling all over. What's wrong?”

“Nothing,” he said faintly. “I'm an idiot. Took me a while to see it, though.”

“Happens,” Cody conceded, but his gaze was still a little concerned. He cupped Nick's cheek with his hand: “Will you stop overthinking this already?” he said softly. “I've been walking on air all day. Gracie even asked me why I was grinning all the time.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. So please- give me some credit. My feelings for you won't change if things don't work out as they are supposed to.”

Nick took a shaky breath: “But that's the point,” he said quietly. “I need to feel like myself again. I need to be able to fly. If I can't do that, I'm... useless.”

“I get that you're thinking like that,” Cody replied. “But you're underestimating yourself, Nicky.”

Nick looked doubtful, but Cody bent down to reach for a bag he had brought: “If you don't believe me: I got proof.”

He reached into the bag and pulled out a Fisher Price cassette recorder which he handed Nick.

Puzzled, Nick looked at Cody, who shrugged, grinning: “Grace recorded a message for you.”

Hesitantly, Nick pressed the play button. For a moment, there were only a few rustling sounds, then Gracie spoke: “Hi, Uncle Nick, this is Gracie! I miss you! Daddy said I can't come see you right now because you're sick. I don't like being sick. I hope you'll get better soon! I went to the library with Mildred today and I borrowed 'Nicky Goes to the Doctor' for you.” She giggled: “Nicky's a bunny. We can read it when I'm allowed to see you next time.” There was a little pause. “Bye!”

Once the message had ended, Cody looked at Nick with his arms folded in front of his chest and his eyebrows raised as if to say “I told you so.”

Nick blinked; much to his annoyance, his eyes were swimming once more.

“Gracie barely knows anything about you,” Cody said softly. “But she's smitten with you. She said you're funny, and apparently, you're doing the grouchy ladybug's voice better than me.”

“Hear, hear,” Nick said chokedly. Then he nodded, slowly: “Okay.” He wiped his eyes with the heel of his hand: “I'm sorry.” He felt wildly relieved now.

Cody regarded him: “So where did we leave off yesterday?”

“I believe there are some outstanding debts,” Nick replied, and for the first time since Cody had come in, there was a smile in his eyes.

“Well, then,” Cody said, glancing at his watch. “Visiting hours end at eight, I'll better get a move on.”

Nick tugged at his shirt: “Shut up and kiss me already.”

A few days later, Nick was sitting by the window reading when there was a knock; before he could react, the door opened and despite Cody's distinct: “Wait a sec, honey, he might be sleeping”, Gracie flew into the room: “Uncle Nick!” she all but yelled when she saw that he was awake and up, and Nick quickly dropped the book to catch her with both hands and lift her up. The momentum rocked the wheelchair for a moment, and his back twinged, but it didn't matter: Grace wrapped her arms around Nick's neck and hugged him tightly, then she drew back just enough to look at him: “I'm glad you're doing better,” she said.

Nick's throat was so tight that he couldn't speak at first. He smiled at the little girl: “Thank you, sweetie,” he eventually managed.

Grace looked at him with an almost comically serious expression, putting her hands on his chest: “I missed you. Did you miss me too?”

“Of course,” he said. “It's very boring when you're not around.”

Grace turned around to beam at her dad, whose expression mirrored hers.

“Hey,” he said to Nick, bending down to kiss him on the cheek. Nick actually blushed, but Grace didn't seem to find anything unusual in it. She kissed Nick on the other cheek, giggling, and he laughed, feeling a kind of ease he had all but forgotten about in the past four years.

“Come on,” he said to Grace. “We'll see if we can get some ice cream around here.”

Another two weeks later, it was Nick's birthday. It was on a Friday, and he hadn't mentioned it to Cody, but the latter knew, of course, and he had conspired with Opal and Nick's therapist.

Which was why Nick found himself in Cody's car at ten in the morning, with Grace sitting in the back. Nick had been surprised, to say the least, when they had come in with flowers and a heartfelt rendition of “Happy Birthday” right after breakfast.

“We took the day off,” Grace announced once Nick had been hugged and kissed and unwrapped his presents, which were two books ( _A Study in Scarlet_ by Arthur Conan Doyle and _Journey to the Center of the Earth_ by Jules Verne) and a dog figurine which Grace had made out of modeling clay.

Nick looked from her to Cody: “For me?” he asked, touched.

Cody shrugged: “'Course.”

Gracie climbed onto his lap and pressed her nose against his: “Because we're going to have a special day,” she said. “It's a surprise.”

Nick gave her a kiss: “Okay,” he said, smiling. “That sounds good.”

Cody drove them to King Harbor. Nick hadn't seen the ocean since the accident, and he enjoyed being away from the clinic for a change.

He grinned when Cody parked in front of Straightaway's: “Nice one.”

Cody seemed relieved: “Yeah? I thought we could go the beach and then have lunch here.”

“Sounds good,” Nick repeated.

The beach wasn't nearly as crowded as in the summer, and the sand was warm enough for Grace to play in. Cody had brought a large towel to sit on while Nick preferred to stay in the wheelchair. It was okay though; he had begun to walk on crutches in the meantime, which he hadn't told Cody yet, and it was going much better than expected.

He was much more optimistic about his own progress by now, therefore he was content to just sit there and enjoy the air and the sea breeze and being with his two favourite people.

Grace however had other ideas. “Uncle Nick, will you come play with me?”

After a moment of comprehension, Cody opened his mouth, but Nick forestalled him: “If your dad helps me, I can join you down there. I can't move around though.”

“That's okay, you can fill these molds. I need them for my castle.”

“'kay.”

“You don't have to-” Cody began, but Nick shrugged, grinning: “In for a penny...”

Cody got up: “If you put it like that...” He smiled. “So what... I'll just tip this thing over?”

“Yeah, that's about it,” Nick said wrily. “Or you could help me stand for a start. Gravity'll do the rest.”

Cody snorted: “Opal will have my head.”

“I'm serious. Help me get up, okay?”

Cody did, and he was surprised that Nick was able to stand without any support.

“I've been starting on crutches,” he said, unable to keep the pride out of his tone.

It was enough to make Cody's eyes misty. “Wow, Nick,” he said quietly. “This is amazing.”

“Yeah?” Nick grinned. “Thanks! Starting to get a bit wobbly though.”

Quickly, Cody steadied him, then he lowered Nick to the ground with a firm but gentle grip.

“Thanks.” Nick ran his hand over the towel and through the sand: “I gotta say, this is a nice change of scenery.”

Gracie pushed all the molds over to him: “You can't use the soft sand. You need to dig out the cold sand because it's stickier.”

“Aye, aye, sir.”

Gracie giggled and went back to her castle. Nick supported himself with one hand and began to dig with the other. After a while, he changed hands, but then Cody casually shimmied closer to him so that he could lean against him, which was a relief and also meant he could use both hands.

Once he was done and Gracie had declared his work adequate, he leaned back a bit more and closed his eyes. “This okay?” he asked softly.

Cody gently ran his hand up and down Nick's arm: “Incomparable,” he said in an undertone, and his breath on Nick's neck was giving him goosebumps.

Nick smiled, reaching behind his back for Cody's other hand and squeezing it for a moment: “Yeah,” he agreed softly.

“Do you miss walking?” Gracie asked him on their way back to the marina.

“Yes,” Nick said. “I do. It's not only that, though. I also miss doing normal stuff.”

“Like what?”

“Like... doing the laundry. Or driving.”

“Do you have a car?”

“Yes, a very nice one.” Nick subdued a sigh.

“What colour is it?”

“It's red, and it's got yellow flames on the doors.”

The little girl's eyes went round: “Can I see it?”

“Once I'm back home, you will. I promise.”

Gracie beamed.

“When will you be back home?”

“I dunno yet.” Nick smiled at the little girl. “I hope it's gonna be pretty soon.”

“I hope so too.” Gracie smiled back.

Straightaway was genuinely pleased to see them; he bent down and hugged Nick, who thanked him for the flowers.

Straightaway waved it aside: “Ah, don't mention it. I'm just glad you're doing okay.” And he was right, Cody thought; Nick was looking better. He wasn't as haggard as he had been two months ago, and his skin tone was a healthy colour by now.

After lunch, they took a stroll through the marina, looking at the boats.

“I've been saving up,” Cody said wistfully. “Just never got round to it.”

Nick nodded understandingly: “I hear you. I've been putting some money aside as well since I've started working for Andy. Have been looking at some old choppers, thought I'd buy one and restore it myself. Just... dunno. Didn't find the right one yet.”

Cody smiled: “Maybe one day.”

“Yeah.”

“I like this one,” Gracie, who was riding on Cody's shoulders, piped up, pointing at a smaller yacht. “What's its name?”

“ _Riptide_ ,” Cody read. “Yeah, she's nice, huh? About the right size too.”

Gracie nodded, jiggling up and down: “Nelson likes her too. Can we buy her, Daddy?”

“I don't think she's for sale, honey. Ow, stop pulling at my hair, or I'll have to throw you into the water.”

Gracie giggled: “Then I'll swim!” She looked at Nick: “Can you swim, Uncle Nick?”

“Sure.”

“Even now?”

“Yes. But since _I_ didn't pull at your dad's hair, I'm not the one who's gonna land in the water today. I hope.”

Grace laughed. “I'd save you,” she promised.

Nick and Cody exchanged a look.

“If you ever _do_ pull at my hair, I'll find other means for retaliation,” Cody said airily. Nick was just glad that Gracie couldn't see his face right then.

“We've got one more surprise,” Gracie said when they were back in the car.

“Provided you're up to it,” Cody said. “If you're tired, we can postpone it.”

“I'm not tired,” Nick lied. For the first time in months, he felt entirely normal again, after all.

“'kay.”

Ten minutes later, Cody parked the car in the drive of a white wooden bungalow.

“This is where we live now,” he said.

“Looks nice,” Nick said, and he meant it. The house was surrounded by trees and a small garden; it looked inviting.

Inside, they gave him a tour, then Gracie insisted on showing Nick her room while Cody went into the kitchen to do mysterious things.

Gracie's room was as cozy as the rest of the house, and someone had obviously taken great care in furnishing and decorating it.

They stopped in front of the large bookshelf, where Gracie showed Nick all her Busytown books until Cody called for them: “Ready!”

Gracie grinned at Nick: “Race you!”

“How about you hitch a ride instead?”

“Okay!” She climbed on his lap and let herself be chauffeured to the kitchen.

“Boy, you're heavy,” Nick said, pretending to be out of breath. “It's like going uphill!”

Gracie laughed: “Is not!”

“Is too.”

“Is not!” She laughed so hard she could barely speak.

In the kitchen, Gracie quickly scrambled to her feet: “Surprise!” she and Cody shouted. There was a birthday cake with 31 burning candles on the table.

Nick was touched: “This looks amazing,” he said. “Did you make the cake yourself?”

“Yes, and Daddy helped.”

“Oh, yeah, no, don't mention it, honey.” Cody grinned.

“You got to blow out the candles and make a wish,” Gracie told Nick. “But Daddy wants to take a picture first.”

Nick didn't have it in him to protest, so Cody took a few pictures, then Nick tackled the candles. Once they were all out and Gracie had applauded him, Cody made some coffee and helped Gracie lay the table, talking to her quietly.

Nick watched them with an absent smile, thinking that this was something he could get used to.

When they got back to Weston Hall just before eight that evening, there was a large, expensive looking bouquet of flowers on the dresser in Nick's room: “Oh yeah, your friend Andy was here,” Opal told him. “Said he'd come back soon, he had some news. And to wish you many happy returns.”

Nick smiled; he was completely knackered now. “Bet he was surprised that I wasn't here.”

“He was. But he took it in his stride when he heard that you're doing so well.” Opal regarded him fondly. “Did you have a good day, honey?”

“It was amazing. We went to the beach, then had lunch at a place which belongs an old army buddy, then we went to Cody's house for some birthday cake. Afterwards, we played Lego with Gracie and had some barbecue. Basically, today was about food.”

“Sound perfect to me.”

Nick grinned: “And just look at all the sand I've brought in!”

Opal laughed: “It's half the beach, from the looks of it.”

It _had_ been perfect, all of it, Nick later thought as he lay in bed. And when Cody had dropped him off with Gracie having fallen asleep in the car, their tender thank-yous and goodbyes had taken a while.

To Be Continued


	3. Flux

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here I was, expecting to only do some final editing on the last part when suddenly, the muse was being difficult again and the story somehow ran away with me. Or maybe it's a mild form of separation anxiety, IDK. Anyhow- this story now has four parts instead of three. =)

“I won't be able to make it tomorrow,” Cody told Nick a few days later. “Our office is getting a computer system, and we're required to attend a training course after work.” He rolled his eyes.

“Sounds boring,” Nick said.

“Yeah.” Cody sighed. “But you'll never guess who's gonna be in charge.”

“Who?”

“Murray Bozinsky.”

“Murray Bozinsky? Really?”

“Yeah, can you imagine? Apparently, he's become some big shot computer expert after leaving the army.”

“Huh. And he couldn't even make a proper fist to hit someone.”

“Right,” Cody laughed. “I'm looking forward to seeing him though.”

“Yeah, he's alright.”

Apparently, the feeling was reciprocated. Murray Bozinsky personally supervised the delivery and installation of the individual terminals, and when he saw Cody, he nearly flipped out: “It's so great to see you, Cody, isn't it great? When did you leave the military police? Are you still in contact with Nick?”

“Yes, Murray, it's great!” Cody hugged him: “Six years, can you believe it? Listen, why don't we have lunch together, then we can catch up some.”

“That'd be boss,” Murray said, beaming.

He was appalled to hear about Nick, and he listened attentively as Cody told him about the recent developments.

“So now he's walking on crutches and also on a treadmill. Slowly, of course, for gait training.”

Murray regarded him: “I gotta say, it's terrible to hear what he's been through. It must have been devastating.”

“I guess so,” Cody agreed. “And I gotta admit it was hard to see him like that at first, but he's doing much better by now, and it shows.”

“I'm glad,” Murray said seriously. “You know, I never forgot what you two did for me. I've never had anyone outside of my family take such a risk in order to help me out.”

Cody smiled: “It was fun, wasn't it.”

“Yeah,” Murray giggled.

“So how did you end up being CEO of a computer company?”

“You see, soon after I left the army and started to work for different companies, I realized that people were only going to exploit me if I didn't do my own thing. Not to sound presumptuous, but I know what I'm capable of, and it's just so annoying if you can't make any headway just because some people don't see the progress you'd make in the long run but choose a quick solution instead. All those companies ever want is a fast buck. It's preposterous, really.” He had talked himself into quite a rage, but now he took a deep breath: “Anyway- I decided to be my own man, so I wrote a few top selling computer games and founded Boznetics with the royalties those generated.”

“Wow, Murray, that's quite a story. Good for you, though.”

“Thank you! We are doing well, if I may say so, and it gives me enough time and resources to expedite my research and development.”

“So what are you working on at the moment? Or is that top secret?”

“Well, between you and me- I've always been fascinated by artificial intelligence. I've spent a lot of time developing different kinds of robots. That's still only in its fledgling state, I'm afraid, but one day, there will robots so advanced that they can perform brain surgery, and much more precise than any human surgeon could.”

“Sounds a bit creepy, if I'm being honest.”

“Oh, I'm talking way in the future here.” Murray pushed his glasses up his nose.

“And how come that you're here, doing this,” Cody waved his hand around. “I mean, you probably got enough people on your staff who can do the footwork, right?”

“Yeah, sure. But the way I see it, this is also part of my job, and I love setting up systems. It's like... I dunno. Frontier work. A nice change from being in the lab all day.”

“Well, I'm glad,” Cody smiled. “Otherwise we'd be missing out on this.”

Murray beamed: “What a kind thing to say.”

On the following day, Nick's morning had started off with the usual routine and exercises. Once he was done and had recovered somewhat, he was due at the doctor's for his weekly checkup.

“I've been conferring with your therapist, Mr. Ryder,” Dr. Miller said once he had examined Nick, “and I've been watching your training today. I'm very pleased with the results, and I'd suggest that you primarily use the crutches from now on, so as to rely less and less on the wheelchair. If that proves successful, you can hopefully switch to bilateral canes soon. Meaning it won't take long until we can talk about your release; all further therapy can be received as an out-patient.” He smiled.

Nick blinked, barely able to speak: “Wow,” he said unsteadily.

The doctor handed him a tissue: “Take your time.”

Gratefully, Nick took it: “Sorry. I just... I wasn't always sure this day would come.”

Dr. Miller's expression was sympathetic: “I can imagine. I'm glad it did, Mr. Ryder.”

Nick nodded: “Thank you.”

In the early afternoon, Nick went out to the terrace on his crutches. It was slow-going, and he wasn't supposed to be overdoing it or going too far on his own, but it still felt like a victory. Larry had put a lot of emphasis on exercises that involved squats and knee bends recently, as well as whole sets that mainly focused on balance, therefore it was also becoming less difficult to sit down in a controlled motion instead of just dropping down and hope for the best. With a content sigh, Nick leaned the crutches against the armrest of the bench and leaned back.

He hoped Cody was coming by early; he could barely wait to tell him the good news. He felt jittery and excited, though he had also been pondering practical matters lately. He had decided not to keep working for Andy; he felt he needed a job in the real world instead of being a part of Andy's personal fairytale wonderland where everything could happen at a whim because of his massive wealth and thickheadedness. Nick had no idea how he was going to tell Andy so without sounding ungrateful though. And if he officially quit his job, he needed some new digs as well.

“Nick!” He turned towards the voice: it was Andy.

 _Speak of the devil_ , Nick thought. “Hi,” he said, feeling woefully unprepared.

Andy reached for his hand: “Happy belated birthday.”

“Thanks. And thanks for coming by; sorry I wasn't there.”

“I heard you were painting the town red.”

Nick laughed quietly: “Yeah.”

Andy sat down next to him: “Did you walk here all on your own?”

“Almost.” Nick pointed at the crutches: “I'm walking four-legged these days.”

“But you're walking.” Andy beamed.

“I am.”

“Listen, I talked to my lawyers the other day. They've finally finished all the paperwork now that the insurances have processed the claims charges. Someone from Schneider, Schneider, Wallis and Green are going to get in touch with you soon, but I thought I'd tell you already: you'll be getting something along the lines of 500.000 dollars.”

Nick stared at him: “What?”

“500.000.”

“Yeah, I heard you. I just got no idea what you're talking about.”

“The insurance sum of the compensation you're due.”

“Compensation for what?”

“Well, I didn't know about it either, but apparently my lawyers took it very seriously when I told them, back when I first took over the estate and got started, that my insurances had to be top notch, because that's what my old dad always used to say. He said losing money during a business investment can be down to bad luck, but losing money because one didn't cater for every circumstance is stupidity. So naturally, when I bought that chopper, the same principle applied.”

“But it wasn't my chopper,” Nick said.

“No, but you were flying it. I had you insured real good, and now that money is yours.”

Nick opened his mouth and closed it.

“I can't possibly take it,” he eventually said. “You've done so much for me already, Andy. You got no idea. I'm not-”

“Of course you're gonna take it,” Andy interrupted him. “I insist! I don't wanna be one of those people who keep repeating themselves, but you saved my life, Nick. Twice! Nothing I could do will ever be enough to show you my gratitude, and this money isn't even from me, strictly speaking.”

“Did you just say 'twice'?”

“Oh, yeah.” A goofy grin spread on Andy's face. “While I was in the hospital, I met a really cute nurse. Beautiful, too, a real stunner! We hit it off, and... we've been dating ever since. I'm gonna ask her to marry me.”

“Congratulations,” Nick said. “But that isn't my doing either.”

“Oh, but it is! Before the incident, my heart had been broken so many times I thought it was beyond mending! I was staring into a dark abyss! But now there's Danielle, and I'd never have met her if you hadn't saved me. So now I'm no longer facing a life full of loneliness, thanks to you.”

Nick tried very hard not to roll his eyes. “Well. I'm happy for you.”

“And I'm happy for you,” Andy said, his thoughts still mainly elsewhere. He barely listened at first when Nick began to tell him what the doctor had said, but in the end, he managed to pull himself together.

“So basically, I am going to quit my job,” Nick ended. “Which doesn't have anything to do with the money. It's just... I feel that I've got to do something else.”

“No more flying?” Andy said.

“Oh, definitely flying,”Nick replied. “As soon as I'm cleared to do so.”

Andy smiled: “I won't lie, Nick. I'll be sorry to lose you, but I understand.”

“You do?”

“Yes. Life's got a funny way of playing us, huh?” Andy shook his head. “Incidentally- there's one more thing I'd like to ask you.”

After Andy had left, Nick stayed where he was, trying to wrap his head around everything that had happened in the past few hours. He was so lost in his thoughts that he flinched when there was a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey,” Cody said, “you okay?”

Nick was relieved to see him, but Cody wasn't alone. Next to him stood Murray Bozinsky, smiling: “Hello, Nick.”

“Oh, hi Boz!”

Murray bent down to hug Nick: “It's so good to see you!”

“It's good to see you too,” Nick said, then he turned to Cody: “And you. I'm really glad you're here.”

Cody sat down next to him: “You sure you're okay?”

“Yes,” Nick said, a little breathlessly, but he inched closer to Cody. “It's just been a day full of surprises. I'm gonna be released soon, so I need somewhere to live. I quit my job, however, meaning I'll need to move. Andy just asked me to be his best man. Oh, and he's also giving me half a million dollars.”

“Andy's getting married?”

“That's your take away from what I've just told you?”

“Okay, sorry, but... calm down a little, will you?” Cody put his free hand between Nick's shoulder blades and moved it in gentle circles.

“Would you like to breathe into a bag?” Murray asked. “I could go find one for you.”

“No, thanks.” Nick closed his eyes for a moment. “I'm fine.” But he was really grateful for Cody's hand on his back.

“Would you rather have some privacy?” Murray looked uncertain.

“No, no, Murray, stay. I meant it, it's really good to see you. Have a seat, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“So... start with the best news of all,” Cody then said while Murray sat down on Nick's other side. “You're gonna be out of here soon?”

“Yeah.” Nick smiled a little strainedly. “I'm supposed to be using the crutches from now on. Maybe I'll switch to canes soon, and then I can go home.”

“But that's wonderful,” Murray said, beaming, and Cody squeezed Nick's hand: “I'm proud of you,” he said softly.

“Thanks, guys.” Nick actually blushed a little.

Cody later accompanied Nick to his room after Murray had left. It turned out that he was living in Torrance, which wasn't far away; they agreed to meet again on the following weekend.

“I forgot what a great guy he is,” Cody said while he fell into step with Nick.

“And he really knows his stuff, from the sounds of it.”

“God yes, my head's still reeling from everything he's taught us. I'm just glad everyone's gotten a manual.” Cody sighed.

As soon as the door was closed behind them, Nick turned around to Cody. They regarded one another for a moment, both of them smiling tenderly, then Cody closed the distance between them and took Nick's face between his hands: “Hi,” he said softly, leaning in for a kiss. They only broke apart when Nick's legs began to tremble. He went to ease himself onto the bed, leaning back with a sigh: “Do you have to go?”

Cody looked at his watch: “Not for another half hour,” he said.

Nick looked relieved. Cody sat down on the mattress: “So, lots of changes on the horizon, huh.”

“Yeah. It's a bit scary, not knowing what's gonna happen. Andy probably won't kick me out until I've got something else, but I don't think it'll be easy, finding something without a job. And that's the other thing: I don't even know when I'll be able to work again.” He frowned.

Cody considered this: “Well... at least you won't have to worry about money for a while.”

Nick's frown deepened: “I dunno... it doesn't feel right to be taking that money.”

“That's such a Nick Ryder thing to say.” Cody's expression was fond.

“I didn't pay for that insurance-” Nick began, but Cody cut him off: “No, Andy did. He is your employer, and he wanted to be on the safe side. It was his fault that the... incident happened in the first place, and in my opinion, you're therefore entitled to accept the compensation.”

“As a pilot, you're always taking certain risks-”

“I don't think attempted murder counts as a an occupational hazard.” Cody raised an eyebrow. “Come on, Nick. Andy's loaded, the money he spends on insurance is what other people earn in a year. He can afford it, and as it turned out, it's good that he's doing so.”

Nick still didn't look too happy about it, but he didn't argue any further.

Cody put his hand on his, stroking his skin with his thumb: “Look at it as a means to make things easier for the time being.”

Nick smiled faintly, turning his hand over and intertwining their fingers: “Fine.”

“And the rest will sort itself out as well.” Cody regarded him: “You know... You could just move in with me. And I'm not saying that because you're gonna be rich soon.”

Nick laughed a little: “What?”

“I'm serious,” Cody said. “We've bunked together before, there are no stairs because it's all at ground level- it's ideal, coming to think of it.”

Nick looked skeptical: “Yes, but... this is different, isn't it. We'd not just... be bunking together. And there's Gracie to consider, what's her nanny gonna say? What is _she_ gonna say?”

“As a matter of fact, it kinda was her idea,” Cody said. “The other day she asked me if you couldn't come live with us so she could ride around in your wheelchair all day.”

Despite himself, Nick grinned, but then he shook his head: “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah,” Cody said soberly. “I do. Remember how I said I didn't care?”

Nick sighed: “And what if nobody wants to work for you any longer? If Gracie gets laughed at, or worse? If your neighbours don't take it lightly? Or if your boss gets wind of it?”

“Then we'll move.” Cody set his jaw. “To Venice, maybe, or...”

“Or to San Francisco, while we're at it?”

“If all else fails...” Cody sounded belligerent.

Nick just rolled his eyes. “And what are your parents gonna say?”

Cody took a deep breath: “All this is exactly what I've been acquiescing to my whole life. It's why I never dared to be honest with myself and others. I'm over thirty now. My parents don't get to have a say in my life any more, and I'm not afraid of anyone else either.” He paused. “Listen. There's the extra room which I've put my weight training bench and other stuff in. I've thought about it for some time now. We could put all that into the basement and turn it into an extra bedroom, that way you don't have to worry about finding some place to live, and you'd not be alone while you're still recuperating.”

His expression softened: “I'm just saying... I suppose we'd be taking things slow at first anyway, right?”

Nick looked as though he was trying not to laugh, and now he blushed again. Dr. Miller had given him a brochure titled “Sexual Dysfunction After Spinal Injury”, saying that such problems didn't necessarily have to occur, but that there was a minor possibility.

“Yours is a mild case, compared to others,” he explained, “considering that the spinal cord was thoroughly affected but not actually damaged. I am obliged to inform you about this nevertheless.”

Now, Nick sighed, leaning over to open the drawer of the nightstand and pull out said brochure, which he handed Cody. Whose ears turned a little red when he saw what it was about. He looked up: “Do you... I mean...”

“No,” Nick said quickly. “I mean, I don't know. It's just... Doc said it's not very likely in my case, but... it might happen.”

They were both rather red by now. Cody shook his head and began to laugh. After a moment of comprehension, Nick joined in, and it took them a few minutes until they were able to calm down.

Cody wiped his eyes: “You know... regarding this, I haven't even thought about sex,” he then said soberly.

Nick raised his eyebrows: “But otherwise you did?”

Cody's ears turned red again: “Well.... I've given it some thought, obviously. In a general 'one day we'll...' kinda way.” He blushed a bit more: “I hope you don't mind, but... I'd very much like to get to know you that way.”

Nick squeezed his hand: “I don't mind. It's sweet.”

Cody looked relieved: “I've mainly thought about all the little things,” he then said. “Normal, every day things. I guess I just wanna have you around.” He smiled. “I _hate_ leaving you here, every time I go home.”

Nick regarded him with his own little smile: “Tell me about those every day things,” he said softly.

Cody shrugged: “Having a meal together. Reading the paper in the morning. Playing with Gracie. Doing the laundry. Watching the games. That kinda stuff.”

He took a deep breath: “It'd be amazing to be waking up with you every day, and I can't wait, if I'm honest,” he then said. “But I'm okay with just... getting to know one another better again, and then see how it goes.”

Nick squeezed his hand: “Sounds good,” he murmured. “All of it.”

“Yeah?” Cody's tone was almost timid. “So... just give it some thought, okay? We'll figure things out. Even this.” He held up the brochure, which had both of them giggle like little boys again.

Cody looked at his watch: “I gotta go,” he said.

Nick pulled him close: “I really like it when you're kissing me,” he said, nuzzling Cody's face with his own. “Even if it's just a quick hello.” He paused. “It might sound corny, but I kinda start waiting for that the moment you're out of the door.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. So... the idea of waking up with you every morning... it's lovely.” The corners of his mouth quirked up. “And you're easy on the eyes, of course.”

“Clown,” Cody breathed, sounding fond.

Nick pondered the matter after he had gone to bed. Cody had a point, of course; it'd be the easiest solution for all of Nick's current problems. On the other hand, Cody simply didn't seem to want to hear how difficult it might turn out, which new problems it was likely to create for all of them.

Then again, if they did take things slow just at first and weren't too clumsy about it, it might just work. Whenever he reached this point, Nick's heart clenched with want. He _wanted_ to move in with Cody and Grace. To have a family, a real home. Someone to love and be loved in return. For a large part of his life, he had been on his own, and it had been hard. But now that there was this opportunity within easy reach, wouldn't he be an idiot if he didn't take it? Or did that make him a selfish bastard? And what if things didn't work out, no matter how inconceivable it seemed right then?

He struggled with these thoughts until long after midnight.

When Cody dropped by in the late afternoon on the following day, Nick was just on his way to his room.

“Hey,” he said, his expression lighting up when he saw the other.

“Hey you,” Cody opened the door for him. Once they were in Nick's room, they stopped, looking at each other.

“I'm having a déjà-vu,” Cody quipped. Nick just closed the short distance between them until their noses touched: “Not sure I can let go of these things right now,” he said softly, meaning his crutches.

Cody smiled: “So you need me to do the holding?”

“Yeah.”

Cody gladly wound his arms around Nick, gently but firmly pulling him flush against his own body, which felt all kinds of wonderful: “Like this?”

“Exactly,” Nick muttered into their kiss.

“Larry torment you?” Cody asked once they came up for air, not letting go.

“Yeah. And he's had me walking a lot. So I'll probably turn in early today.”

Cody nuzzled him: “It's not long now.”

“I know.”

“So... you been thinking about it some more?”

Nick nodded: “Yeah. And I've got to show you something.”

They sat down on the bed. Nick took up a black notebook and handed it to Cody, then he leaned back, looking relieved to be off his feet. He motioned towards the book: “I thought it's only fair to write up a list of things to consider. About me.”

Puzzled, Cody looked from him to the notebook and back: “What things?”

“Well... things you should know. It's been some time since we've bunked together, and...yeah. I felt you should know.”

Still not having the faintest idea what Nick meant, Cody opened the notebook.

Right on the first page, he read:

\- I'm often impatient

\- I can be moody

\- I don't have any experience with children

\- I'm bad at pretending (which might be a problem regarding the neighbours etc.)

\- I'm not as tidy as you are

\- Christmas is a difficult time for me (might put a damper on the holiday season)

Cody looked up: “I don't know whether I want to hug you or shake some sense into you,” he said in a low voice. “Nick- do you think _I'm_ perfect? Because let me tell you- I'm not! Nor is anyone else, for that matter.” He held up the notebook: “These aren't relevant in any way.”

Nick opened his mouth to protest, but Cody didn't let him: “If you really decide to move in with us- we'd deal with things as we go along. From what I've seen so far, you're great with my kid. And she didn't come with a manual, by the way, so even I am still learning. And Christmas is a long way off. I'm touched that you're so considerate, but really- right now, it's not something we'd need to be concerned about. By the time December rolls around, all this would be more than half a year in the past already. We'd be different from the people we are today.”

Nick ducked his head a little: “But I'm concerned about it now,” he said, sounding brittle.

Cody's expression softened: “And is there anything positive you can find about yourself? Or is this a subtle way to back out?”

“Turn the page over,” Nick muttered.

Cody did. On the next page, there were only three dashes:

\- I can cook

\- I can repair stuff

\- I can speak Italian

“So you're applying for a job?” Cody asked, his voice strangled.

“Sorry,” Nick was barely audible now. “I'm probably overthinking things again, huh?”

“Yes, you are.” Cody regarded him, blinking a few times: “Wanna know what I think?” He reached for the pen that was lying on the nightstand and wrote:

\- You've got a heart of gold

\- You need someone to love you and make sure you know what a great guy you are

\- You're what was missing in my life

At that, Nick laughed a little, looking sheepish and avoiding Cody's gaze.

Cody sighed, turned the page over and wrote:

Cody

\- I'm sometimes moody and impatient too, ask Gracie

\- I'll so be getting on your nerves at Christmas (and through all of December, coming to think of it)

\- ditto my daughter

\- my singing in the shower has been compared to shrieking cats

\- I'm very good at being phony and shallow with people, so you won't need to pretend, I've got it all covered

\- I do however have got the patience of a saint and I've been reliably informed that I'm easy on the eyes

Nick read what he'd written, smiling briefly as he did. After a moment, he nodded, slowly: “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to back out. I'm thinking about it, honestly. I just thought... it's a lot to consider, especially since it's not only the two of us. I don't want to muddle things up, or make anyone uncomfortable.”

Cody half crawled onto the bed so he could kiss him again: “And I love you for thinking of Gracie,” he said softly. “But we can take all of this in our stride. And I gotta warn you- the little miss isn't always only sunshine and happiness. She sure knows how to throw a tantrum." His gaze wandered over Nick's face: "And you're allowed to think of yourself as well, okay?”

“'kay.” Nick leaned his forehead against Cody's: “I feel like I've forgotten how to live a normal life,” he murmured.

Cody cupped his neck with one hand, gently stroking the soft skin with his thumb: “You'll get there,” he replied. “If you'll allow yourself to do so.” He paused: “And if you let people in.”

“People like you?”

“Yes, people like me. And Gracie. And probably Murray. Who are looking beyond the surface and therefore don't care if you're being moody or untidy. And let's face it: I already knew that.”

This elicited another small smile.

Cody pulled back a little so he could look at Nick properly: “Nick- if you don't want to move in with us at this point, that's okay. I'd be a shitty friend if I pushed you when you're not ready.”

Taking a deep breath, Nick nodded. “It's not you,” he said. “It's me. You're right, I need to get out of my head.”

He reached for Cody's hand, folding his own fingers around it and holding it tightly: “This... us... this feels so right. Every time I see you, I get goosebumps.” He blushed. “I feel like a lovesick teenager whenever I'm with you, and at the same time, as if we'd been together forever.” He paused. “But whenever I'm alone and start thinking, I'm tripping myself up. It's as if I can't believe my luck.” He fell silent.

Cody regarded him: “You've been in here for too long, if you ask me. And let's face it, life hasn't often been kind to you.”

“No,” Nick murmured. “It hasn't. But that's no excuse for being a coward.”

Cody tapped on the notebook: “Baby- this doesn't make you a coward. This- trying to do things right and getting overwhelmed by them- is who you are when your defenses are down.”

Fighting back tears, Nick blinked: “Must be,” he managed. “Since I'm starting to snivel every time we talk.”

Cody squeezed his hand: “You'll get there,” he said softly. “Being able to walk again is the first step to feel like your old self. The rest will sort itself out.”

Nick wiped his eyes: “When have you become so wise?”

“It's a dad thing,” Cody said airily. “Once the baby's there, you learn to think on your feet and occasionally spout wisdom.” He smiled, and his gaze was warm and affectionate as he looked at Nick now.

Nodding, Nick smiled a little as well. “Okay,” he said. “Okay.”

Once more, Nick didn't find any sleep until the small hours of the morning. He was exhausted, but he kept pondering their conversation, feeling silly now that he had written that list at all, when it had seemed only practical and even necessary as he did it. And he heard Cody's voice in his head, telling him that life hadn't often been kind to him. Which was true, but on the other hand: he had found Cody, once, and now Cody had found him, and they had gotten a second chance. And who was he to throw that away?

Cody also lay awake until after midnight. He understood where Nick was coming from; he had been at such a low point when Cody had first visited him that one had to count it as a victory that he had come such a long way in the meantime. And life had never been easy for him. His dad had left when he was four, and his mom had died some ten years later. He had stayed with his grandma until her death and had subsequently enlisted and gone to war.

Considering all this, it was not surprising that Nick felt insecure after what had recently happened; until now, the blows just had kept coming. But even now, Cody also saw a lot of the familiar strength in Nick, the strength which had brought him this far, and he knew that Nick was going to be okay as long as someone was there to remind him of what he was capable of. Cody wanted to be that someone, not only because he loved Nick but because he knew him best.

On the following morning, Cody had just sat down in his office and was booting up his computer when his phone rang.

“Hi, it's me,” Nick said.

Cody was surprised: “Nick? You okay?”

“Yeah. I...” He hesitated. “I just wanted to ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

“About getting a dog... would you feel ganged up on if I wanted one too?”

After a moment of comprehension, Cody laughed: “Baby- are you saying what I think you're saying?”

“Depends.”

“Well.” Cody got up from his chair, feeling too giddy to sit all of a sudden. “It sounds to me as though you're seriously considering moving in. And maybe getting a dog.”

“Well, obviously I wouldn't get one right away,” Nick replied. “But once I'll be able to walk without any aids...” He paused. “I don't want to keep postponing things.”

Cody grinned broadly: “Right you are, big guy. And I don't think it's ganging up on me if all three of us want one.”

“You do too?”

“Course! I grew up with dogs!”

“But you said _Gracie_ wanted one.”

“She does. And so do I. But since I'm working so much and there's a strict 'no dogs in the building' policy here, one of us had to be the sensible one.”

“So... We could get one. If I manage to find a job without such a stupid policy, then I could even take the dog with me.”

“Yes, why not?”

“Okay, great. Just thought I'd ask.”

“I'm glad you did.”

After they had hung up, Cody put his hands on his thighs, hung his head and took a deep, shuddering breath, feeling weak with relief.

The next time Cody came to visit without Gracie in the week after that, they made a to-do list, sitting next to each other on Nick's bed with the head raised up so they could lean against it.

“So,” Nick fidgeted a bit. “Did you tell Gracie about it?”

“Yes.” Cody smiled. “She's over the moon, as predicted.”

“Really?”

“She is working on a 'welcome home' banner right now.”

Nick laughed.

“But we probably shouldn't mention the dog yet.”

“Okay.”

“Nick?”

“Hm?”

“I'm over the moon as well.”

Nick regarded Cody: “Yeah. Me too.”

“And you're sure now?”

“I am.” He looked around the room: “I'm... when I get like that, just whack me over the head with a baseball bat in the future, okay?”

“Applied psychology?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” Cody smiled.

“Thanks for not letting me doubt myself,” Nick then said softly. “Or push you away.”

“Hey,” Cody said. “I've got you, okay? Nothing's changed about that.”

“Yeah.” Nick's voice was barely audible now. “Thanks.”

"And do you believe me when I say we'll deal with everything- including prying neighbours or my parents? You and me, together?"

"Yes." Nick held his gaze. "You and me, together."

Cody leaned in for kiss: “I love you.”

“Love you more.”

For a moment, they just beamed at each other.

“Well, ” Nick then said. “I'll need some furniture. I don't have anything.”

“Really? Nothing? Not even any homeware?”

“Do I look like the type whose collection of vases needs an extra shelf?”

Cody rolled his eyes: “No, but I thought you'd maybe have a sheet or two. Or towels.”

“I do have sheets,” Nick conceded, grinning. “And a few towels. That's about it. No vases.”

“Okay.” Cody wrote it down. “How about I'll pick you up tomorrow afternoon and we'll go browsing?”

“Not losing any time, huh?” Nick raised his eyebrows.

“Well- with the way you're all but _running_ around these days, it can't take too long now, right?”

Now Nick rolled his eyes: “Sure. But why not. Let's go browsing.”

“And we can always use the room for guests later on,” Cody said lightly, studiously avoiding looking at Nick right then. “So, what else?”

“A cold shower for you,” Nick quipped.

“Ha ha.” Cody looked around the room: “I've taken pre-emptive action, by the way.”

“Yeah? How so?”

“I ran into my neighbour Howard yesterday. He and his wife are _ultra_ conservative and the epicenter of all gossip in the neighbourhood. Told him that an old army buddy was moving in with us to recuperate from some serious injuries, and I made it sound dramatic and a tad mysterious so he didn't dare ask further questions. I hope you don't mind.”

Nick sighed: “Oh boy... You still sure it's such a good idea?”

Cody put the notepad down and bumped his shoulder with his own: “I think it's getting better by the minute.”

“Okay.” Nick rubbed his cheek against Cody's shoulder. “Just checking.”

Cody pressed a kiss into his hair: “Okay. I've also already tidied up the garage so we can park your car in it.”

“That's not necessary,” Nick said, touched. “I've got a tarp for it-”

“From the way you were talking about it, it absolutely is,” Cody replied. “And you renovated it yourself, didn't you?”

“Yes.”

“See? Necessary. Gracie can't wait to see it, by the way. She said it's too bad you won't bring your wheelchair, but the car's making up for it.”

Nick laughed softly: “Well, she'll see it soon.”

“Did you talk to Andy about this?”

“Yes. I called him yesterday. He was a little surprised that it'll be so soon, but he's offered his help.”

“Good guy.”

“Yeah. And he said if you brought your bathing suits, you could swim in the pool in between all the packing.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. He's generous like that.”

“Gracie'll love it.”

“She said she could swim, does she really?”

“Yeah. I went swimming with her even when she was still a baby. I want her to feel confident in the water. Last year, we've taken up surfing too.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. She doesn't have her own board, but I'm taking her on mine, riding the smaller waves. It's fun and she's got great balance.”

“That's amazing.”

Cody beamed, his pride evident. “Yeah. _She_ is.”

“As are you.” Nick sounded tender.

Simultaneously, as if on cue, they moved closer to one another; Cody turned towards Nick and put his arms around him, pulling him against his own body, and they lay back, their hearts beating wildly from the novelty of it.

“This is amazing too,” Cody eventually muttered, nuzzling Nick's forehead. Nick hummed in agreement; he pushed his nose into the fabric of Cody's shirt and inhaled deeply, taking in the other's scent and already feeling at home, right there in Cody's embrace.

To Be Contined


	4. Phenomena

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now there are five. Beats me how that happened.

The shop was huge. Nick looked up at the sign that said _Mattress Emporium_ and wrinkled his nose: “It's an emporium alright.”

Cody, who had given the matter some thought because he realized Nick wouldn't be able to just look around for too long, motioned towards the entrance: “Come on. Let's find a sales assistant so we can narrow it down.”

“And here I was,” Nick said, giving Cody a crooked smile, “thinking we'd try every single bed in there.”

Cody snorted: “You wish, Mister.”

After they had chosen a bed, they went to two more stores and bought a chest of drawers, a few shelves, a nightstand and some bedding. The room had an wall closet, so they didn't need to buy a wardrobe.

Once they were back in the car, Cody looked at Nick: “I didn't think we'd be so successful at the first attempt.”

“Me neither.” Nick smiled: “Felt good though.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. It's normal stuff.” His smile deepened: “Normal, everyday stuff.”

Now Cody smiled as well: “I liked it too.” He reached over and took Nick's hand, squeezing it: “I really like doing normal, everyday stuff with you, Nick Ryder.”

Nick squeezed back: “Ditto, Cody Allen.”

A week later, Nick was ready to switch from the crutches to canes.

When Cody came by in the afternoon, Opal stopped him: “Oh, honey, wait a sec.”

Immediately, Cody's inner alarm bells went off and it must have shown in his face, but Opal smiled: “Everything's alright. Just wait here, okay?”

She disappeared and came back smiling even more broadly shortly afterwards. Cody smiled as well, a little confused: “Is it what I think it might be?”

“It's a freaking victory,” Opal said softly, motioning her head towards the hall, because there Nick was, walking towards them with two canes instead of the crutches. He was moving slower than usual and it obviously required some concentration, but he was glowing with pride.

Cody couldn't prevent his eyes from getting moist: “Look at you! Nick- I'm so happy for you!”

“Thanks,” Nick said as he stopped in front of them, beaming. He was still only getting used to the reduced support and how to handle the different posture and everything, but it allowed for a glorious feeling of freedom, after all. “So... The doc said if things continue to go well, I could leave next week.”

Cody beamed as well: “Home for Easter! Wait till I tell Gracie!”

“I'll miss you, sweetie,” Opal now said. “But from the looks of it, I won't need to worry about you once you're out of here.”

Nick blushed: “Thanks, Opal,” he said in a low voice. “I'll miss you too.”

Opal blinked: “I better get on with my schedule now,” she said. “Else you'll make me cry.” Waving, she turned to go.

Cody looked from her to Nick: “She really cares about you.”

“Yeah. I'd like to get her something nice, as a thank you.”

“We can do that,” Cody said. “I'll take you wherever you'd like. Oh, and the furniture's been delivered, by the way. Gracie and I've already put up the shelves. I hope you don't mind.”

“'Course I don't.” Nick looked Cody over: “You look tired though.”

“I've been working late,” Cody said lightly. “Nothing to worry about.”

Nick's eyes narrowed: “You'd tell me if it's getting too much, right? I appreciate your taking the time to come here so often, but if it means that you're not getting enough sleep-”

“I'm fine,” Cody said softly, touched by Nick's concern. “I don't mind, on the contrary. It's easier to concentrate once Gracie's in bed and everything's quiet. It just got late because I was on the phone with my parents for some time.”

“Did you tell them?”

“Yeah. The light version, anyway. They say hello.” Cody's parents had always liked Nick. When Cody had told them about his current situation a few weeks ago, Mrs. Allen had promptly sent a homemade cake. They didn't know about the change in Cody's and Nick's relationship, however, and Cody preferred to keep it that way for the time being.

“You okay?” Nick now asked, because Cody was frowning a little.

“Yeah.” He shook himself out of it. “It's best like this, believe me.”

“Okay.” The corners of Nick's mouth quirked up ever so slightly.

“What?” Cody asked.

“Nothing.” Nick regarded the other. “I'm just really glad we're doing this.”

On the following Saturday, Cody and Gracie picked Nick up in the morning and drove to Brentwood. Once they had passed the electronic gate and were approaching the main house, Gracie's eyes went round: “Is this where you live, Uncle Nicky Bunny?”

“No, it's my friend's Andy's house,” he said. “I lived in the pool house. You'll see it in a minute. And since when's my name Nicky Bunny?”

Gracie giggled: “Since always!”

“Grace,” Cody said in a stern tone he didn't use often. “We talked about this.”

Gracie pretended not to hear him as she now dug around in her backpack.

“She's a bit wound up because of all that's happening,” Cody said in an undertone. “Like at Christmas.”

Nick subdued a grin: “I wonder where she's got that from.”

Andy opened the front door: “Hello all,” he said, beaming, then he hugged Nick: “You did it, man! I'm so impressed! Jaime, look at Nick, aren't you impressed?”

Jaime, who had kept in the background so far, politely inclined his head in acknowledgement.

Nick smiled: “Hi, Jaime, good to see you. This is my friend Cody Allen, and this young lady here is his daughter, Grace.”

“Hello, Grace,” Andy said. “Nice to meet you, I'm Andy. And that's Jaime.”

“Hello,” Gracie seemed uncharacteristically shy.

“Come on,” Andy said. “Let's go outside. Can I offer you anything? Coffee? Or something cold?”

“No, thanks,” Nick said after exchanging a glance with Cody. “I think we'd better get started.”

“Okay.” Andy led the way out to the patio. “Maybe Grace'd like some ice cream though?”

Grace looked from him to the pool to her dad and back: “Can I go swimming later?”

“May I,” Cody corrected her.

“Of course you can,” Andy said. “Did you bring your swim suits?”

“Yes,” she said. “And I can hold my breath under water and dive through Daddy's legs!”

“Really? So you're secretly a mermaid, huh?”

“No,” she giggled.

“Okay,” Andy said. “How about you and I go and find some ice cream for now, and once Nick and your dad are done packing, you can show me how you can dive, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Not that she needed all the extra sugar,” Cody muttered when he followed Nick out to the pool house, the door of which was open already to let in some air.

Inside, Nick paused: he wasn't sad about moving out, but it was strange to come back after such a long time. Everything looked as it had when he had left, almost four months ago, bearing silent witness to how his life had been interrupted.

Right then, he felt Cody's hand on his back: “You okay?” he asked softly.

“Yeah.” He took a deep breath. “I'm fine.”

It didn't take longer than an hour to pack up Nick's things. They started with his clothes: Cody took everything out of the wardrobe and put it on the bed, where Nick sat and boxed everything. It wasn't that much, really, and Cody even recognized a few things apart from Nick's uniform. It made him a little wistful but at the same inexplicably happy.

Once they were done with clothes, shoes and toiletries, it was only the sheets and towels they'd talked about, Nick's books, a photo album, a pair of dumbbells, an assortment of tools and a few knick-knacks. There were two other boxes in the hall closet which were already sealed, containing stuff from his mom and his childhood.

Gracie had taken one look around the pool house once she was done with the ice cream and asked when they were going to pack up the rest, but Cody explained to her that Nick hadn't brought the furniture or any of the cookware in the small kitchen with him.

Once Cody, Andy and Jaime had loaded everything into Cody's car and Andy's new limo, Gracie insisted on seeing Nick's car. The classic Corvette was parked in Andy's large garage. While Gracie immediately asked permission to “drive”, Cody wanted to have a look under the hood.

“Amazing,” he said. “I knew you jobbed in a body shop during high school, but this... wow!”

“Why can't our car have flames on the doors, Daddy?” Gracie asked.

“Because it wouldn't look half as good on it,” Cody said.

“I'd like it,” Gracie objected.

Nick just smiled as he listened to the ensuing discussion, running his hand over the car's mirror; he really couldn't wait to drive it again. He missed flying even more, but this car had been a means to distract himself from the pain after removing himself from Cody's life, and for a time, it had been the only good thing he'd had, giving him a small sense of accomplishment. Driving the Vette always made him feel better.

“I'm sure Uncle Nick will take you for a ride in this one,” Cody now said in a tone that brooked no further argument. “So you don't need another car with flames on the doors, okay? How about we'll go swimming now?”

While Andy, Cody and Grace changed into their swim suits, Nick sat down next to the pool.

“You don't wanna get in?” Andy asked when he came out, a towel over his shoulder.

“Nah,” Nick leaned back. “Gotta take it slow for a while.” Which wasn't entirely true. But he had looked at his reflection in the mirror on the previous day after taking a shower, really looked for the first time after the accident, and had barely recognized his own body. He was thin and pale, and he didn't feel comfortable with taking off this clothes. He also didn't want Gracie to see the scar on his back; it hadn't begun to fade yet, thus the thin but rather long red line was standing out against his skin.

He was aware that he had lost weight even before the incident, simply because he'd been unhappy, he now realized. He hadn't enjoyed cooking for himself, and he hadn't had much of an appetite most of the time. Which still had been infinitely better than the time he'd worked in construction and lived in a run-down one-bedroom apartment, because he hadn't had a real purpose back then. If he hadn't had the Vette to work on, he'd probably have crawled into a bottle. Well, he had admittedly been drinking a lot, but he'd just so kept it from spiralling out of control.

Once he'd been hired by Andy and moved into the pool house, he'd at least had a decent place to live and a job he'd liked. It hadn't improved his appetite, hence the weight loss. He'd stopped drinking and had kept fit, since working out helped him to get out of his head, but still- all that and the past months had left their mark.

In hindsight, he wondered how he'd made it to this point at all, considering how little he had cared about anything. But one thing was clear: Cody probably hadn't found him if the incident hadn't happened, and the notion of going through all of this alone still was a bleak one, so yeah. He'd definitely have found a way to end it all.

“Andy,” he said, before he could stop himself. “You know that I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you, right?”

“Err,” Andy looked lost.

“You saved my life too,” Nick continued in a low voice. “If I hadn't gotten the job as your pilot- I gotta be honest with you, I don't know what I'd done. I wasn't exactly in a good place back then.”

Andy regarded him: “In that case, I'm glad you applied for the job, Nick. Even if... if things went wrong.” He took a deep breath: “You're a great guy, I'm happy to be your friend. We are friends, aren't we?”

Nick smiled: “Yes, we are. Thank you.”

Andy smiled as well, but his eyes were moist now: “Well, I better test the waters then.” He threw the towel on one of the deck chairs and jumped into the pool, where he climbed onto an inflatable lounge chair. Moments later, Gracie and Cody emerged.

While Gracie squatted down next to the pool to get herself wet, Cody came over to Nick: “You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah.” Nick smiled up at him. “Go, enjoy.”

Cody gently squeezed his shoulder, then he went to Gracie and took her by the hand. They went in at the shallow end, and Gracie immediately began to swim. “Look, Uncle Nicky Bunny!” she shouted.

“ _Grace_ ,” Cody admonished her, but Nick only grinned: “Looking good, Shrimp!”

Gracie laughed so hard that Cody quickly supported her or she'd have swallowed water.

“Concentrate on what you're doing, honey,” he said. “Otherwise I'll go get your swimmies.”

“No!” Grace shook her head. “I don't need swimmies, Daddy.”

“You will if you don't concentrate, okay? Nick can see you, you don't need to call him.”

“Okay. He just called me Shrimp!” She giggled again.

“Well, you've been calling him names too.”

“I wasn't calling him _names_ , Daddy, I _like_ Nicky Bunny!”

Cody subdued a grin: “Still. I don't know if he likes being called a bunny.”

Gracie pursed her lips: “I'll ask him. Can I please swim now?”

“Yeah.” Cody released her.

Nick watched them as they swam and dove and later played with a ball. It would have been fun to join them, but he told himself that this was only the beginning. They'd have other opportunities, and that notion was giving him a warm glow inside, the same kind of glow he felt whenever he was with Cody. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, tuning out the noise from the pool: _you were right, grandma_ , he thought. _I fell on my feet, but I didn't do it alone_.

The next thing he knew were two wet hands on his face. Gracie was standing in front of him, giggling and wrapped in a large towel: “Were you sleeping, Uncle Nick?”

Nick blinked: “I think so.”

“Look, my fingers are all shrivelled up.” She showed him her hands.

“Oh, yeah. Did you have a good time, honey?”

“ _Shrimp_ ,” she corrected him. “Yes, I did.”

“Let's get you dry,” Cody said. He had wrapped his towel around his waist and probably wasn't even aware of how amazing he looked. Beautiful. Nick felt a blush creeping up his face just at the thought.

That night after he had put Gracie to bed, Cody went into what he was already calling Nick's room and looked around. They had unpacked most of Nick's stuff in the afternoon, and now the only thing that was missing was Nick himself. Cody felt an acute wave of longing right then.

Only a few more days, and then the wait was finally going to be over. Feeling like a teenager again, Cody quietly laughed about his rapidly beating heart; he was giddy with excitement whenever he realized anew that this was really happening. With a sigh, he looked at the books on the shelf and the made bed, then, on tiptoe, he went over to the wall closet which was filled with Nick's clothes now, opened the door and inhaled. Nick's scent was palpable, if very faintly, and Cody closed his eyes, feeling close to the other one and at the same time, terribly far away.

“Soon,” he muttered as he closed the door again.

Nick wasn't sad to be leaving Weston Hall when Cody came to get him on the following Friday afternoon, but saying goodbye to Opal was a very emotional affair, as anticipated. Cody, who wanted to give them some privacy, took Nick's duffel bag: “I'll wait in the car. Bye, Opal. Thanks for everything.”

She shook his hand: “Bye. Keep taking such good care of him, okay?”

“I will. Bye.”

“I couldn't have done this without you here,” Nick said softly to Opal once Cody had left. “Especially in the first few weeks. But even after Cody showed up... well, you know what I mean.”

“I do, honey,” Opal's eyes were moist. “And I'm so proud of you. I told you you'd get here, remember? At the time, I wasn't sure if you believed me. And now look at you.” She smiled.

Nick nodded: “I know. You didn't let me give up.” He shifted his weight for a moment, taking both canes with one hand so that he could give her the gift bag he had been holding: “This is for you. As a thank you.”

“Oh, honey, you shouldn't have. Thanks.” She looked into the bag, then she began to laugh: “You didn't!”

Nick grinned: “I dunno.”

Opal reached into the bag and pulled out a square, wrapped package. Inside, she found a Walkman.

“I love it! But this is too much,” she said, though she was beaming.

“No,” Nick regarded her. “It's not nearly enough, if anything. But you said you'd like one, and I thought...” He broke off.

Opal took a deep breath and hugged him gently, then she pecked him on the cheek: “Thank you,” she said quietly. “I appreciate it.”

Nick also kissed her on the cheek: “I'll keep in touch, okay?”

“Please.” She wiped her eyes as she let go of him: “Take care, sweetheart.”

“You too.” Smiling, Nick made his way out to the parking lot.

At home, Gracie and her nanny were busy in the kitchen when Cody and Nick came in.

Gracie, who'd been perching on one of the barstools that were lining the kitchen island, hopped down and hugged Nick: “Welcome home, Bunny!” she said.

“Thank you, Shrimp,” Nick smiled down at her.

Mildred, the nanny, opened her mouth to reprimand Gracie, but Cody shook his head: “It's okay,” he said in an undertone while Gracie showed Nick the banner she had made and which Cody had put up that morning. “They've come to an understanding. I don't really get it, but I'm not gonna meddle.”

“Okay.” Mildred gave him a smile. She extended her hand: “Welcome, Mr. Ryder. I'm Mildred.”

Nick took it: “Nice to meet you. Please, call me Nick.”

“Milly and I have been blowing out eggs,” Gracie said excitedly, climbing back up on the barstool. “For Easter! And now we're going to paint them!”

Nick sat down next to her: “Sounds like fun,” he said. “What are you gonna do with them when they're done?”

“We'll hang them on the tree next to my swing,” Gracie said. “Daddy said that his grandma always did that. She's from Sween.”

“That's Sweden, honey,” Cody said.

“Really? They hang painted eggs in their trees for Easter?”

“I think they bring a few branches into the house and decorate them in a vase,” Cody said. “But we thought it might look nice outside, and it's not supposed to rain any time soon, so... fingers crossed.”

“Huh. So how many are you going to make?”

“I wanted to make a hundred, but Milly said twelve are enough.”

Mildred smiled: “My ears already had enough after blowing out the first three, honey.”

Cody took Nick's duffel to his room, then he returned to the kitchen to make some coffee, where Nick had in the meantime been roped into painting an egg as well.

“What's that?” Gracie leaned over to look at it.

“That's my car,” Nick said. “Obviously.”

Gracie giggled: “It looks like Lowly's apple car.”

“Does not.”

“Does too.”

“Okay, a little.”

“Can you do Lowly too?”

“I can try. But no complaints if he looks like Hilda the hippo, okay?”

Gracie was shrieking with laughter: “Okay!”

Shaking his head, Cody put the coffee pot and three mugs on the table: “Mildred?”

“Yes, thank you.” She wiped her hands on the apron she was wearing.

“Would you like some juice, Gracie?” Cody asked her.

“No, thanks.” Gracie had returned to her own egg and didn't even look up. “I'm going to paint Nelson on this one. And a puppy.”

While they made small talk and watched Gracie with her eggs, Cody kept stealing glances at Nick; he was so happy that he had to contain himself not to break out in song. To be fair, he had been singing all the way to Weston Hall earlier, but he was still bubbling with energy. He just hoped that Nick was feeling the same. He seemed content and relaxed, and once Mildred and he discovered that they both had one set of great-grandparents that originated from Puglia in southern Italy, they even talked in Italian for a bit.

Gracie looked up: “What did you just say, Milly?”

“I told Nick that it is a pleasure to meet someone who also knows the old recipes.”

“What recipes?”

“Recipes our great-grandparents brought with them from Italy. Do you remember the soup I made that you liked so much?”

Gracie paused: “Perdise soup?”

“Yes, darling, paradise soup. In Italian, it's called Minestra del Paradiso. It's a very old recipe.”

Gracie turned from her to Nick: “Can you cook perdise soup too?”

“Yes, honey, I can.”

“Yay!” Gracie bounced up and down in excitement.

“Stop it,” Cody said quickly, because she was splashing around her paint, while Nick reached out to keep her chair from tilting over.

That night, Gracie was so hyped up that it took a long time for her to settle. She demanded that Nick say goodnight as well, and she got up again several times under varying pretexts. When she finally drifted off, it was nearing nine. Cody, after having tucked her in a fourth time, waited for a while to make sure that she was really sleeping.

Nick was lying on the couch in the living room, glad to be off his feet. Larry had been adamant that he didn't rely on the canes too much: “Keep in mind that these are not meant to carry your weight like the crutches did,” he had said at the end of their last session that morning. “They're only there to help you with your balance and improve your stability until you feel ready to walk entirely unsupported.”

The difference had been tremendous at first; by now, Nick had gotten used to it, but it was still tiring.

Cody sat down next to his hip, regarding him with a smile: “Hi,” he said softly.

Nick smiled drowsily: “Hi,” he replied in an equally low voice. “Sorry, I'm mostly conked out. Hope this is okay.”

“Course it's okay. In fact- mind if I join you?”

Nick shifted sideways: “Not at all.”

Cody stretched out next to him, and they wrapped their arms around one another with something akin to relief.

“What if Gracie-” Nick started.

“She won't. She's severely out of it now. Once she's actually asleep, not even a thunderstorm will wake her.”

“'kay.” The last bit of tension left Nick at that, and he fully eased against Cody.

They were silent for a moment, just enjoying each other's closeness.

“Can you believe it?” Cody eventually murmured.

“Not quite,” Nick nuzzled his face with his own. “I really hope I'm not gonna wake up and find it's all been a dream.”

“Need me to pinch you?”

“Nah. A kiss, on the other hand...”

Cody gladly complied.

Saying goodnight a few hours later after they'd fallen asleep on the couch together and woken up around midnight because it was actually getting a bit chilly turned out to be as sweet as saying goodbye after a date.

Once he'd gotten ready for bed, Nick crawled under the covers and looked around the room for a while, listening to the still unfamiliar sounds of the house and taking in his new surroundings.

“Lucky bastard,” he muttered as he finally turned off the light.

On the following morning, Nick woke up when the door to his room opened and Gracie peered in, still in her pyjamas, Nelson under one arm and one of her books in the other hand.

“Come in,” Nick croaked.

“Good morning, Bunny,” Gracie said as she padded over to the bed. “Did you sleep well?”

“Very well,” Nick replied, glancing at the clock. “And I'd actually like to sleep a bit longer, it's still really early.”

“Okay. Only I thought we could read Busytown.”

“Maybe later, okay, Shrimp? How about you go and see if your dad's awake?”

“Okay.” She waved at him and turned to go. Smiling to himself, Nick turned onto his other side and closed his eyes again.

Cody was still asleep as well. He opened one eye to peer at his daughter: “Too early,” he slurred. “Wanna crawl in with me?”

Gracie nodded, at which Cody lifted the covers and the little girl climbed onto the mattress and snuggled up with him.

Two hours later found them at the table in the kitchen, having breakfast.

Gracie was having a 'sloppy egg with soldiers', meaning Cody cut her toast into stripes which she then dipped into the egg.

“I'm only allowed this on the weekend,” she told Nick. “That way, it's special. And on Sundays, we eat pancakes.” She rubbed her belly. “I love pancakes.”

Nick, who was savouring the really good coffee Cody had made, smiled: “Me too.”

Cody handed him a part of the paper, the corners of his mouth quirking up; they were both thinking the same.

That night, Nick was exhausted mentally rather than physically, if in a good way; there had been a lot of new information to take in, a lot to do, and altogether a lot to process.

Once Gracie was in bed and asleep, Cody and he sat on the couch with a beer. Nick hadn't had any alcohol since before the incident, and it tasted heavenly.

“I'm gonna get up early tomorrow,” Cody said. “Before Gracie, even. I hope. I gotta hide everything for the egg hunt in the garden. To be safe, I've made a deal with the little miss: we've set her alarm clock for seven, and she's not allowed to get up before that or look out of the window, even if she's already awake.”

“Does she know that you're the Easter bunny?”

“No, but I told her that the Easter bunny might be here late, due to all the other gardens it's got to go to, and that it doesn't like being watched.”

Nick regarded him: “You're a good dad,” he said softly. “Gracie's lucky.”

Cody shrugged: “I dunno. Sometimes I think I've got to make up for the fact that she's only got me, you know? Through no fault of her own, she doesn't even remember her mom. She's only here because I was irresponsible and selfish. So I better do my damn best.”

Nick considered this: “I think you're being too hard on yourself,” he said. “There are always two people involved, if I remember correctly. And one of them bailed.”

“She only bailed because she realized she wasn't cut out to do this.”

“Which sounds more selfish to me than what you're doing,” Nick retorted. “She could've stayed and done her duty by her daughter instead of putting her own welfare first, if you ask me.”

Cody took a deep breath: “Maybe,” he then said. “But it'd probably not have made things easier.”

They were silent for a while.

“Does Gracie never ask about her mom?” Nick eventually asked.

“She did when she first started kindergarten,” Cody said. “I never lied to her about Janet, you know? We've got pictures of her around, and she sends Gracie presents for her birthday and Christmas, but she was too young to really understand who those were from. It was too abstract. Once she went to kindergarten, she saw other families and realized that hers is different. We talked about it and I told her that her mom loves her very much but that she's living in New York because of her job. We looked at her baby photos and talked about her, and Gracie was curious about her, of course. Since then, they have been talking on the phone once in a while, and we both agreed that Gracie should be able to meet her if she wants to. So far, she didn't though. She seems content that her mom exists..”

He paused. “It worries me sometimes. What if one day, when she's older, she'll blame us for missing out on that?”

Nick put his free hand on Cody's thigh: “You don't know that that's gonna happen. Wanna know what I think?”

“Hm?”

“I think Gracie's content with how things are. She seems happy and unburdened, if that's the term. Means that you're doing a great job and giving her everything she needs. If she'll want to meet Janet one day, she'll say so, judging from how I've gotten to know her.”

Cody regarded him: “Thanks,” he said softly. “I hope so. I don't want her to miss out on anything.”

“Think Janet's gonna be jealous?”

“Because of you?”

“Hm.”

“Maybe. Not our problem though.”

“She can't... claim any rights or anything, can she?”

“No,” Cody regarded him, once more touched by Nick's concern. “She waived her legal rights when she moved away. I've got sole custody.”

Nick looked relieved.

“Come here?” he said after a moment, lifting his arm, and Cody put down his bottle and shimmied closer to him until he could lean against him with his legs drawn up, Nick's arm around his chest.

“Gracie is very likely gonna test boundaries once she's gotten used to the novelty of your being here,” Cody said after a while. “She's an expert in twisting people around her little finger, so be prepared to say no.”

“Just as I did when she wanted me to read Busytown with her at six thirty this morning?”

Grinning, Cody nodded: “Exactly.”

“Okay. Think I've got it covered.”

“So... how was it so far?” Cody then asked, waving his hand around.

Nick smiled, pressing a kiss into his hair: “Amazing,” he said softly. “Really. Is it weird that I'm already feeling at home?”

“No,” Cody smiled as well. “It's how it should be.” He turned his nose into Nick's shirt: “I missed you during the night,” he murmured. “The fact that you're only a couple of doors away now somehow makes it even worse.”

Nick chuckled softly: “I hear you,” he replied. “But this... this is great. Back at Weston Hall, the evenings sometimes were the hardest.”

“I can imagine.” Cody pressed a kiss on Nick's arm: “I'm so glad you're here, baby.”

Nick gently reinforced his grip around him: “Me too.”

To Be Continued


	5. Permanent Magnetic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sniff- the end! Since I really hate that the story's finished, it's possible that there'll be AU snippets in the future... 
> 
> Thank you all for reading!

During the following weeks, they all got attuned to one another and their daily routines. Nick soon knew where everything was and also met Howard, the nosy neighbour, who came by right on the third day to say hello.

On those days on which Nick didn't have to attend PT at the local office, he did his exercises at home, then took care of those chores he was currently able to do. Walking was requiring increasingly less effort; not long after he had left Weston Hall, he only needed one cane anymore. Slowly, he felt like a normal person again, and he enjoyed the normalcy of it all.

He started cooking too, and Gracie was over the moon when he made Minestra del Paradiso for her.

For Easter, she had drawn him a picture showing their house and four stick figures underneath which Cody had added the names in Crayon: _Gracie, Nelson, Cody_ and _Nick_. Next to that, they had taped a set of keys to the paper, and Cody had written: _Welcome home (once more)! In case you lose these, there's a spare hidden underneath the rain barrel round the back._

Nick had been so touched that he had barely been able to speak for a moment, but Gracie had simply climbed onto his lap and hugged him, so he didn't really need to say anything. And while she learned that Nick indeed knew how to say no to her, and that his input had the same weight as her dad's or Mildred's, she accepted this new grown-up in her life with an ease that had Cody scratching his head.

When she hurt herself or was crying really hard for some other reason, she still primarily wanted her daddy, but apart from that, she adored Nick. As long as he wasn't going to back work yet, this meant that they could do without a babysitter whenever Mildred wasn't there; sometimes, Gracie played at a friend's house, of course, but when she was at home with Nick, it was a chance for the two to get to know each other better. They played together or snuggled up with a book, and Nick patiently suffered through a lot of occasions of Gracie “dressing his hair”. When he was walking outside, Gracie rode around on her little bike. As Cody had said, Gracie could have a bad temper, and on one memorable afternoon, she and Nick were not even speaking to each other when Cody came home, but that was part of everyday life and never lasted long.

Gracie loved snooping around in Nick's room too, asking him about his things; one day, she wanted to see the photo album that was standing on the shelf next to his other books, so he took it down and showed it to her.

“This is my mom,” he said, “and that's me as a baby.”

Gracie looked at the picture for a long time: “My mom lives in New York.”

“I know.”

“Where's your mom?”

“She's passed away when I was 14.”

“Is she in heaven now?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“And your dad?”

“He left my mom and me when I was little.”

“Like my mom?”

“No, honey, not quite. We never heard from him again. I don't even know where he is now.” Or if he was still alive, at all.

“That's sad. My mom sometimes calls on the phone.”

“Yeah? Do you like talking to her?”

Gracie shrugged: “It's okay.”

 _Kids_ , Nick thought. _Not so easily fooled_.

Gracie now looked at him: “I don't want daddy to leave, ever.”

“Oh, but he won't, honey,” Nick said. “He loves you so much!”

“Didn't your daddy love you?”

“I'm not sure,” Nick said truthfully. “I barely remember him, to be honest.”

Gracie pondered this: “I love you, Bunny,” she then said. “And daddy loves you. And Nelson!”

Nick smiled, feeling almost ridiculously grateful and proud: “I love you too, Shrimp. Very much.”

All in all, by the time Cody's birthday rolled around in May, it felt like Nick had been living with them for much longer than only a month. Gracie and he baked a cake for the occasion and counted the 33 candles together which went on top of it.

Since his birthday was on a Wednesday, Cody had only invited Murray, whom they had seen quite often recently, and Andy, whom Nick had talked to on the phone a few times. And Mildred, of course. They were going to have a barbecue in the garden in the early evening, and Cody had taken the day off.

“I thought we could do the shopping in the morning after dropping Grace off at the kindergarten,” he said.

“Sounds good to me,” Nick replied. “Gracie was almost gonna pretend she's sick because she'd rather stay at home as well, but then she remembered that they're going on that field trip tomorrow.”

Cody laughed quietly: “The petting zoo, yes. She'll probably want a lamb and a goat too when she comes home.”

On the next morning, Cody woke up from a small earthquake which then turned into his daughter: “Happy Birthday, Daddy,” she shouted and kissed him. He caught her and pulled her close, kissing her as well: “Thank you, angel.”

“You have to get up,” Gracie said, “we have a surprise for you!”

Cody let her pull him out of bed and into the kitchen, where the candles on the cake had been lit and the wonderful scent of coffee greeted him. Gracie and Nick had decorated the table with flowers and presents, and now they sang “Happy Birthday” for him.

“Happy Birthday, big guy,” Nick then said, smiling.

Cody looked around: “This looks amazing, guys,” he said, beaming. “Thank you! Is that a chocolate cake?”

“Yes! Blow out the candles, Daddy!”

Cody did, with a little help from Gracie, then he sat down to open the presents. Gracie had painted a large stone for him: “I did this in kindergarten. It's a paper weight, for your office.”

“It's very pretty,” Cody said. “Thank you, honey.”

From Nick, he got an LP: _Classic Christmas_ by Johnny Cash. He laughed loudly: “You got me there, buddy.”

“What is it?” Gracie wanted to know. “It's a Christmas album. I used to drive Nick crazy around Christmas by singing carols all the time.”

“Can we listen to it?”

“Later, honey. It's a bit early.” Cody grinned: “Thanks, Nick.”

He opened his third present, which was a yachting magazine that was coming with a annual subscription.

“Thanks!” Cody got to his feet and hugged Nick. “I love it. Might come in handy one day!”

Nick pecked him on the cheek, mindful of Gracie's presence, then he smiled: “How about some coffee?”

“Yeah,” Cody said, turning around, but Nick stopped him. Without using his cane, he walked over to the worktop, took the coffeepot and came back.

Cody stared at him open-mouthed: “Does that mean- is it- did you-”

“It does, it is, I did,” Nick replied, grinning. He only just managed to put down the coffee before Cody and Gracie engulfed him in a bear hug.

“Best birthday ever,” Cody said, slightly muffled, “and it's not even eight o' clock.”

Nick wanted to drive that morning, and Cody let him. Nick was positively glowing with elation, and it was a joy to see him like that.

“Where are you going?” he asked when Nick didn't turn onto the road that led to the supermarket once they had dropped Gracie off.

“I've got one more surprise for you,” Nick said, smiling. “We'll go shopping afterwards.”

“Okay. What is it?”

“Sur _prise_ ,” Nick only repeated. “You gotta be patient.”

Cody kept trying to guess what it was nevertheless, bugging Nick all the way until he parked the car at the King Harbor Marina.

“Oh, are we going to have a second breakfast at Straightaway's?”

“Wait and see.”

Nick was walking with measured movements, but he didn't head towards the Restaurant; he turned towards the Marina instead.

Cody looked around: he loved the faint scent of the ocean with an ever-present underlying tang of seaweed and the gentle sounds the boats made, and the sky was incredibly blue.

“It's really nice here, huh?” he said.

“Yeah.”

“So where are we going?”

“We're nearly there.” Nick seemed a little nervous now, but he was also smiling.

“You didn't buy me a boat, did you?” Cody quipped.

Nick remained silent.

“Nick-” Cody stopped. “Did you buy me a _boat_?”

Nick grimaced, then he rubbed his neck, and, looking around, shrugged: “Sorta.”

“What?”

Instead of a verbal answer, Nick pointed to a boat behind Cody. He turned around: “ _Riptide_.”

For a moment, he just stared, then he slowly broke into a delighted smile: “You- you bought the _Riptide_?”

“Well- you and Gracie liked her, so I called Straightaway if he knew the owners, and he did. Things developed from there.”

“But... she wasn't for sale when we were here-”

Nick rubbed his neck again: “It's really only a matter of the right offer...”

For the second time on that day, Cody looked at him open-mouthed: “You really bought her?”

“Not yet,” Nick clarified. “I thought you should have a proper look at her first, see if it's what you've had in your mind. But if you do, I will. Or we could look for another one.”

Cody ran a hand through his hair: “But this is too much, Nick, I... I don't know what to say...”

Nick regarded him: “Andy's lawyers mailed me that check last week. I'm rich now, remember?”

“But that's your money, and I know you wanted to buy a helicopter-”

“Which I can still do.” Nick smiled a little. “Cody- you of all people made me aware that one shouldn't postpone matters for too long. It's no big deal- I got the money, which you convinced me is a good thing, and we'll use it for good things. What's mine is yours, okay?”

Cody shook his head: “You sure?”

“No, I'm joking.” Nick rolled his eyes: “'Course I'm sure.”

Cody was shaking: “Well, then... can we have a look at her now?”

Nick pulled a set of keys out of his pocket: “Yep.”

“How did you-”

“While you were at work.”

“Yeah. Makes sense. Wow.”

The current owners were only spending a few weeks per year on board, according to Straightaway. The boat therefore didn't look particularly lived in, but it was in good shape. Nick and Cody looked around and liked what they saw; the Riptide was cozy and unpretentious, solid and well-kept.

Apart from the wheelhouse there were a salon, a double stateroom with a bathroom (“It's called 'head',” Cody said dreamily), two single staterooms with an extra, smaller bathroom and a galley with enough space to sit in.

“Wow,” Cody said again once they had returned to the salon.

Nick regarded him, the corners of his mouth quirking up: “So, what do you think?”

Cody lifted his shoulders in a helpless gesture: “I love it,” he said, a little breathless. “I already love it so much, you got no idea.”

Laughing quietly, Nick reached for him and pulled him close for a kiss: “Happy Birthday,” he said softly.

Cody sighed into the kiss: “Do you really think you can-”

“Yes. Shut up.”

“I could chip in what I've got in my savings account.”

“Or you could keep that and put it aside for later. Maybe Gracie'll want to go to college.”

“Yeah...” Cody sagged a little, nodding: “This is incredible.”

“ _You_ 're incredible.”

“No, _you_ 're incredible.”

They laughed, arms around one another, faces touching.

“I can't wait,” Cody then said quietly. “Thank you, Nicky.”

Nick nuzzled his nose with his own: “Least I could do,” he murmured.

“You didn't have to do anything,” Cody replied softly. “You know that, right?”

“I know. Feels good to make you happy, though.”

“I'm already happy,” Cody pulled back just enough to be able to look at Nick. “I'm so happy that I've got you back, I sometimes can't sleep just because you're so close and I feel all giddy with it.”

“Yeah?” Nick was touched.

“I love you.” Cody smiled warmly.

Nick couldn't but smile as well: “I love you too.”

They decided not to tell Gracie anything until everything was set and done, though Cody found it very difficult to contain himself.

The next few days were filled with excitement not only because of the boat, however, because Nick went to see a doctor and was cleared for flying.

“Not for hours on end, mind you,” he said. “You've got to take it easy at first, very easy.”

Nick nodded. “I don't even have a chopper right now,” he said. “So it'll probably take a while anyway.”

He had begun looking for one again; he had something specific in mind, like one of the older models he'd flown in training years ago. Something modern of the kind Andy had, with digital instruments and all kinds of gadgets, was nice but not what he was looking for. He wanted something with character.

That night, he dreamed of the almost-crash, which hadn't happened in a long time. He'd had the occasional nightmare about it, but those had ceased at one point. When Nick bolted awake that night, panting and trying to grasp what had just happened, he was soaked with sweat and needed a while to understand that it hadn't been real. He blinked, turning on the light: only a dream. With slightly shaking limbs, he got up, took off his shirt and threw it into the hamper, then he took a clean one out of the closet and went to the bathroom to freshen up.

On his way back, he stopped in front of Cody's door. Hesitantly, he reached for the handle, almost drawing back again, but then he pressed it down slowly, opening the door just wide enough to slip through. He closed it behind himself and waited for his eyes to adjust to the relative darkness in the room; he could hear Cody's quiet breathing and immediately felt a wave of longing for the man who was sleeping there, just wanting to be close to him.

He padded over to the bed, suddenly very aware of his rapidly beating heart, but he couldn't turn back right then. Very cautiously, he sat down on the mattress; Cody was lying with his back to him.

For a few minutes, Nick just looked at him, taking in the peace of the moment; eventually though, he put his hand on the other's shoulder: “Cody.”

Cody stirred: “Hm? 's it?”

Nick blinked: “Nothing. I just...” He fell silent. _I had a nightmare and needed comforting_ sounded too silly all of a sudden.

Cody turned around to him: “What's wrong?”

Realizing that he couldn't lie to him, Nick took a deep breath: “Just a dream. Sometimes it all comes back during the night, even though I can't remember it.”

Cody sat up and turned on the bedside lamp; he was tousled and couldn't stifle a yawn, but as he was regarding Nick now, his expression was concerned.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Been thinking about helicopters lately, that's all.”

“Okay.” Cody smiled. “So, since you're here... wanna stay?”

Instead of a verbal answer, Nick just crawled into his arms. Cody pulled the covers up around them and held Nick tightly as they wound their arms around one another. It was a whole new sensation now that they were both only wearing their sleep things, and it felt wonderful- intimate and exceptional.

A detached part of Nick's mind worried about Gracie coming in, but in the end, Cody's heartbeat and his scent and the way their bodies fit together like pieces of a puzzle provided such an absolute feeling of security that it lulled him back to sleep in no time.

Cody's alarm clock went off early, and for a moment, Nick was confused, but then he remembered. He had turned onto his side at one point, and Cody was still firmly wrapped around him; an amazing way to wake up.

Nick smiled when he felt a few whiskery kisses along his neck and his throat: “Morning,” he murmured.

“Morning, baby,” Cody replied without stopping.

“Shouldn't I get up-”

“Not yet.” Cody had now reached his ear. “It's a strange and undeniable fact that kids never get up early during the week, only on the weekends to annoy their parents.”

Nick sighed, relieved because he didn't _want_ to get up yet and Cody was nibbling at his earlobe in a way that sent delicate little shudders down his spine: “'kay. You're the expert, I trust your word.”

Cody laughed softly, and they both craned their heads for a kiss: “Love you,” Nick murmured.

“Love you too.” Cody nuzzled him: “Did you sleep well?”

“Better than ever.” Nick turned around to him, inching close for another kiss. Unhurriedly, they took their time to explore a little, and it was marvellous and tender. Neither of them had been touched in such an intimate way for a long time, and the fact that this was the one person respectively that they had been yearning for only made it sweeter. And Nick, once he'd taken off his shirt, didn't feel awkward at all in Cody's presence, only loved and cherished.

“Well,” Nick said lightly when they were making breakfast. “I think I can throw out that brochure now.”

There was some real relief audible in his tone, therefore Cody, after making sure Gracie was still in the bathroom, put down the coffeepot and pulled him close for a moment: “I'm glad,” he said softly. “I liked what we did this morning.” He blushed a little.

Nick grinned: “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Cody stole a quick kiss and lowered his voice even more: “You're beautiful, Nicky.”

At that, Nick blushed as well, avoiding Cody's gaze and muttering something about not being a girl; he gave him a brief, fierce hug however, then he pulled away and busied himself with laying the table.

Cody went back to making coffee, and he couldn't stop smiling.

By chance, Nick got a job interview later that day. He called Cody at the office to tell him: “It's a small air charter service based in Van Nuys,” he said. “Called Santini Air. They also do aerial stunts in Hollywood, but they need someone for regular charter flights and repairs. I'll drive over there in a moment.”

“Sounds perfect,” Cody said. “Good luck!”

“Thanks.”

There was a pause.

“Nick?” Cody then said.

“Hm?”

“I can't wait to be coming home to you tonight.” He pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers: “I know how cheesy and awful that sounds, but...” He sighed. “It's true.”

“That's okay,” Nick said softly, and his voice was tender. “I know what you're getting at.”

For a moment, they were silent, feeling close to one another.

“Okay,” Cody then said apologetically. “The sooner I get on with this, the sooner I'll get to go home...”

“Right. Don't let me keep you. I should get going anyway.” Nick smiled audibly: “See you later.”

“Good luck! Bye for now.”

After he had hung up the phone, Nick took the keys to the Vette and went out to the garage, still smiling.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to the original advertisement of the boat (https://classicyacht.org/boats/riptide-1939), there were one double stateroom and two single staterooms. Which was rather convenient for this story. =)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a Native Speaker, therefore I apologize for any mistakes.
> 
> I've done lots of research, but the medical parts are not necessarily reliable even so. 
> 
> The chapter title is a paraphrase from W.H. Auden's "Johnny". Furthermore, "Busytown" is by Richard Scarry, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and "The Grouchy Ladybug" are by Eric Carle. All of them very much loved by me since my childhood. =)


End file.
